JUDGMENT :- The petitioner is a stage carriage operator operating a stage carriage on the route Othai – Kozhikode on the strength of Ext.P1 regular permit that was issued on 12.8.2006. The validity of the permit will expire on 11.8.2011. Two weeks back the petitioner submitted Ext.P3 letter dated 15.3.2011 to the second respondent requesting for permission to surrender the permit. This writ petition is filed seeking a direction to the second respondent to consider the request in Ext.P3 and to cancel the permit forthwith. The petitioner contends that though he had availed financial assistance from a private financier and the vehicle stands hypothecated to the financier, permission of the financier is not required for surrendering the permit. It is contended that unlike section 51(6) of the Motor Vehicles Act which stipulates that a “No Objection Certificate” from the financier should be produced for renewal or transfer of the permit, rule 183 of the Kerala Motor Vehicles Rules 1989 which provides for surrender of permits and consequential cancellation does not contain any such stipulation and therefore, the respondents cannot insist that the petitioner should produce a “No Objection Certificate” from the financier. 2. Sri. Basant Balaji, the learned Government Pleader appearing for the respondents submitted on instructions that the petitioner has not along with Ext.P3 application surrendered the original of the permit, that under rule 217 of the Kerala Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 the petitioner has to give one month’s notice of his intention to withdraw the service and unless the petitioner gives notice in terms of rule 217 and surrenders the permit along with that notice, rule 183 will not come into operation. The learned Government Pleader also submitted that the financier of the vehicle has objected to the surrender of the permit and therefore no orders have been passed on Ext.P3 application. 3. I heard Sri. Sajeev Kumar K. Gopal, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner and Sri. Basant Balaji, learned Government Pleader appearing for the respondents. Rule 183 of the Kerala Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, which deals with cancellation of permits, reads as follows:- “183. Permit – cancellation on surrender; -- (1) The holder of a permit may at any time surrender it to any Transport Authority and thereupon the permit shall be deemed to have been cancelled with effect from the date of such surrender. Rule 183 of the Kerala Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, which deals with cancellation of permits, reads as follows:- “183. Permit – cancellation on surrender; -- (1) The holder of a permit may at any time surrender it to any Transport Authority and thereupon the permit shall be deemed to have been cancelled with effect from the date of such surrender. (2) Where the Transport Authority to which the permit has been surrendered for cancellation is not the authority which issued the permit, such authority shall forthwith forward the permit to the Transport Authority which issued the permit.” As per sub-rule (1) thereof on the holder of a permit surrendering it to any Transport Authority, the permit shall be deemed to have been cancelled with effect from the date of surrender. Sub-rule (2) thereof states that where the Transport Authority to which the permit has been surrendered for cancellation is not the authority which issued the permit, such authority shall forthwith forward the permit to the Transport Authority which issued the permit. 4. Rule 217 which deals with withdrawal of a bus from service reads as follows:- “217. Withdrawal of bus from service:- If the holder of a stage carriage permit proposes to withdraw before the expiry of the permit the services which the vehicle covered by the permit is providing, he shall, unless prevented by unavoidable circumstances, give at least one month’s notice of his intention to the Transport Authority which issued the permit, and shall surrender the permit on the date from which the services are withdrawn. Upon receipt of the notice, the Transport Authority shall post a copy of the notice on the notice board of the Authority.” 5. In Premrajan v. R.T.O. Kannur, 1990 (2) KLT 648, K.T. Thomas, J. (as His Lordship then was), considered the question whether the Transport Authority is bound to pass orders on an application made by a stage carriage operator for surrendering the permit and whether upon the surrender being effectuated, a certificate of such surrender is required to be issued, held as follows:- “5. What should a holder do if he does not want to operate the permit? (Unless he transfers the same after obtaining the permission of the Transport Authority). What should a holder do if he does not want to operate the permit? (Unless he transfers the same after obtaining the permission of the Transport Authority). Rule 217 of the Kerala Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 (for short ‘the Rules’) enjoins a duty on him to give one month’s notice to the Transport Authority which issued the permit, of his intention to withdraw from service. On receipt of such a notice, the Transport Authority has to publish a copy of it on the notice board of the office. This is evidently to enable others to have advance knowledge that the particular stage carriage would be off that route after a month. Such notice is intended to help passengers and also persons interested in applying for a permit on the same route. Rule 217 further provides that the holder of a permit who proposes to withdraw from service, after giving the notice, shall surrender the permit on the date from which he withdraws from service. R.183 of the Kerala Rules reads thus: “Permit – cancellation on surrender; -- (1) The holder of a permit may at any time surrender it to any Transport Authority and thereupon the permit shall be deemed to have been cancelled with effect from the date of such surrender. (2) Where the Transport Authority to which the permit has been surrendered for cancellation is not the authority which issued the permit, such authority shall forthwith forward the permit to the Transport Authority which issued the permit.” This should be read along with R.217 of the Rules. A permit holder cannot surrender the permit without giving one month’s notice as provided in R.217. A permit shall be deemed to have been cancelled with effect from the date of surrender only if it was preceded by the notice. If he surrenders the permit without giving any such notice, it is open to the Transport Authority to refrain from recognizing the surrender. But if the surrender is made after giving notice as provided in R.217, the Transport Authority need not pass any formal order, cancelling the permit. If he surrenders the permit without giving any such notice, it is open to the Transport Authority to refrain from recognizing the surrender. But if the surrender is made after giving notice as provided in R.217, the Transport Authority need not pass any formal order, cancelling the permit. However, it is only proper that the Transport Authority, which declines to accept the surrender for want of due notice, informs the permit holder that the surrender is not acceptable as the same was not done in accordance with law.” (emphasis supplied) The learned Judge proceeded to hold that even though there is no specific provision in the Act or the rules casting any obligation on the Transport Authority to issue a certificate to the permit holder upon surrender of the permit, such a certificate may be necessary in certain contingencies, namely the contingency referred to in rule 58 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989. It was held that as rule 58 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules provides that an application for the issue of a No Objection Certificate should be accompanied inter alia by documentary evidence that the vehicle is not covered by any permit issued by any Transport Authority, even in the absence of a specific provision or rule regarding the grant of such a certificate, the Transport Authority will do well by issuing such a certificate as it would help a person to comply with the requirements when he has to file an application under section 48 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. 6. The same issue was considered by another learned single Judge of this Court in O.P.No.7615 of 1991. The relevant portion of the said judgment reads as follows:- “3. Rule 183 of the Kerala Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 allows the holder of a permit to surrender it to any Transport Authority at any time. On such surrender, the permit shall be deemed to have been cancelled with effect from the date of such surrender. I therefore follows that the moment the permit holder surrenders the permit, it cease to have any validity. No further action by the Transport Authority is contemplated in the matter. On such surrender, the permit shall be deemed to have been cancelled with effect from the date of such surrender. I therefore follows that the moment the permit holder surrenders the permit, it cease to have any validity. No further action by the Transport Authority is contemplated in the matter. For withdrawal of bus from service, as per Rule 217, the holder of the permit, unless prevented by unavoidable circumstances, should give at least one month’s notice of his intention to withdraw from the route to the Transport Authority, which issued the permit. After the expiry of that period of notice, the permit holder shall surrender the permit. On receipt of the notice, the Transport Authority should post a copy of the notice on the notice board of that authority. Apart from that, the authority is not to take any action on the notice for withdrawal. In other words, the authority is not to grant permission to the holder of the permit to withdraw from service. Nor can the Transport Authority refuse the holder of the permit to withdraw from the route. Thus, a holder of a permit if surrenders it or withdraws from service after giving one month’s notice, will have the permit cancelled with effect from the date of surrender, or on the expiry of the period of notice when he surrenders the permit, as the case may be. In the instant case, the petitioner, it is claimed, surrendered the permit on 4.3.1991. If that be the case, with effect from that date, the permit should be deemed to have been cancelled. The factum of cancellation should have been noted by the respondent. Since the permit stands automatically cancelled with effect from 4.3.1991, the petitioner’s prayer for issue of “permitless certificate” should have been granted by the respondent without any delay. This having not been done, I direct the respondent to issue the certificate without any delay.” (emphasis supplied) It was held that if a notice in terms of rule 217 of the Kerala Motor Vehicles Rules is given, a copy of the notice has to be posted on the notice board and on the expiry of the notice period the permit will cease to be valid, if after the notice period the original of the permit is surrendered. The learned Judge also held that the Regional Transport Authority does not have to take any action on the notice of withdrawal and that the Regional Transport Authority cannot grant permission to the holder of the permit to withdraw the service or decline permission to withdraw the service. It is thus evident from the decisions referred to above that all that a permit holder, who desires to withdraw the service, is required to do is to issue a notice in terms of rule 217 of the Kerala Motor Vehicles Rules to the Regional Transport Authority and to surrender the permit on the expiry of the notice period. Since the surrender of a permit can be achieved by giving a notice and physically surrendering the permit before any Regional Transport Authority, it has to be held that the financier is not entitled to object to such surrender. The Transport Authority can decline to accept the surrender only for want of due notice in terms of rule 217 of the Kerala Motor Vehicles Rules. 7. In the instant case the petitioner has admittedly not given a notice in terms of rule 217 of the Kerala Motor Vehicles Rules. He has also not surrendered the original of the permit. In such circumstances I dispose of the writ petition with a direction that in the event of the petitioner issuing a notice in terms of rule 217 of the Kerala Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, the competent authority among the respondents shall cause a copy of the notice to be posted on the notice board. The petitioner shall after giving such notice, surrender the original of the permit on the expiry of the notice period to the Regional Transport Authority. On such surrender the permit shall stand cancelled. The Secretary of the Regional Transport Authority shall thereupon issue a certificate to the effect that the petitioner has surrendered the stage carriage permit issued to him.