In Brief
Ambala Bus Syndicate operated stage carriages (buses) from Punjab into Chandigarh under permits issued before 1966 that were continuously renewed. Chandigarh's 1998 Scheme (amended 2001) restricted private bus operators, but a 2008 bilateral reciprocal agreement between Punjab and Chandigarh specifically permitted such non-air-conditioned buses with pre-1966 permits to operate. The High Court Division Bench held Chandigarh could refuse counter-signature under the Scheme. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, holding that a bilateral reciprocal agreement consciously entered on mutually beneficial terms does not conflict with the unilateral scheme in the absence of legal inconsistency, and Section 98's overriding effect applies only to actual inconsistencies, not merely because one is unilateral and the other bilateral.
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