(1.) Petitioner is the owner of Public carrier vehicle bearing Registration No. MYJ 5427. The fitness Certificate of that vehicle expired on 5-2-1977, However, the vehicle was seized on 5-8-78 by the Inspector of Motor Vehicles attached to the 2nd respondent's office. In spite of the protests of the petitioner, the vehicle was handed over to Police custody with a direction that the vehicle may be released only in the event of the petitioner producing Form No. 28 prescribed under the Rules framed under the Karnataka Motor Vehicles Taxation Act (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act'). The instructions issued to the Police Sub-Inspector, Bagalkot, by a letter dated 17-9-1978 by the 1st respondent that the vehicle should be kept in detention until the petitioner paid arrears of tax in a sum of Rs. 11,696-85 for the period 1-1-77 to 31-10-78 and the current taxes, was copied to the petitioner which has been produced at Ex-A. Aggrieved by the letter at Ex-A, the petitioner filed a revision petition before the 1st respondent Commissioner for Transport in Karnataka, Bangalore. That revision petition came to be dismissed on 30-3-79 observing that the case did not warrant the exercise of the power under S. 15-A of the Act as the petitioner could avail himself of the right of appeal under S. 15 of the Act, against the Demand Notice issued by the 2nd respondent. Aggrieved by the same, the petitioner has approached this Court under Art. 226 of the Constitution for relief.
(2.) Learned counsel for the petitioner has taken me through the provisions of the Act. S. 15 and S. 15-A of the Act are independent provisions. An appeal against any order of the Taxation Authority is provided to the prescribed authority within the prescribed time and in the prescribed manner. Sec. 15A which was put in the statute by Karnataka Act No. 351 1957 by way of an amendment of the Act provides that the Commissioner for transport may either of his own motion or on an application made by any aggrieved person, call for and examine the records of any proceedings under the Act of any authority subordinate to him for the purpose of satisfying himself as to the correctness, legality, or propriety of such proceedings and may either annul, reverse, modify or confirm such order or pass such order as he may deem fit.
(3.) In the instant case, Counsel for petitioner pointed out that the Commissoiner is not a prescribed authority to hear appeal under Section 15 of the Act. It is his argument that Section 15-A confers very wide revisional powers on the Commissioner and it is independent of the power exercised by the prescribed authority under Section 15 of the Act.