In Brief
A bus operator appealed against a division bench decision that prevented it from operating non-air-conditioned stage carriages in the Union Territory of Chandigarh, relying on the 1998 Chandigarh transport scheme. The Supreme Court held that a bilateral reciprocal agreement of 2008 between Punjab and Chandigarh, which expressly permitted non-A.C. buses of private operators with permits issued before 1966, overrides the unilateral scheme. The court reasoned that because both parties consciously and mutually agreed to the reciprocal arrangement on beneficial terms, it cannot be invalidated by the scheme's override provision unless explicitly superseded. The appeal was allowed and the single judge's order was restored.
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