Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, July 5: The High Court today issued notice to authorities of the Transport Department for not taking into consideration the judgment of the court with regard to re-registration of non-local vehicles and issued the fresh order of re-registration of non-local vehicles.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Sanjay Dhar issued notice to Commissioner/Secretary to Transport Department, Transport Commissioner and ARTO Srinagar. The notice on behalf of these officials accepted by the Advocate General. He has sought week’s time to apprise the court about the issue.
It is pertinent that the earlier circular with regard to fresh registration of vehicles brought from outside J&K has been quashed by the court in April and subsequently fresh circular issued in this regard which as per the petitioner is in contravention to the judgment of the court.
The impugned circular was quashed to the extent of asking for fresh registration of vehicles. The fresh Circular has been issued by the Commissioner/Secretary to Transport-Hirdesh Kumar directing all the RTO and ARTOs that no person shall be allowed to drive any motor vehicle and no owner of the vehicle shall cause or permit the vehicle to be driven in any public place or in any other place unless the vehicle is registered in accordance with the MV Act 1988. Court has been informed that the authorities have misrepresented the judgment of the court intentionally in order to given design to otherwise illegal acts on part of the authorities as court had directed that a life time tax that is levied at the point of registration of a vehicle in terms of Section 3 of the Motor Vehicles Act, cannot be levied on a vehicle registered, merely on a presumption that a vehicle registered outside Union Territory of J&K has remained in the UT of J&K for a period of exceeding 12 months.
On face of the record by the petitioners challenging the circular and reference to provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act and the Rules framed there-under, the Court had arrived at a just and proper conclusion that the impugned circular issued by RTO Kashmir is unnecessary.
The Court had also clarified that the Transport Authority has powers to deal with the cases, which fall under Section 50 of the Motor Vehicles Act, as the matters which fall under the application of Section 50 are not the subject in these writ petitions.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
