A S NAGARAJU Vs. REGIONAL TRANSPORT OFFICER TUMKUR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) the petitioner claims to be the owner of vehicle bearing registration No. Tmn 4788. The said vehicle was registered as a stage carriage on 16-04-1984 in tamil nadu with a seating capacity of 38 + 2. One t. Balakrishnan purchased the said vehicle and converted it as an omnibus on 11-06-1991 with the same seating capacity. The petitioner purchased it from t. Balakrishnan. After the transfer of ownership in favour of petitioner was duly recorded in the registration certificate, the petitioner brought the vehicle into the state of Karnataka by way of change of address. On 21-08-1991, petitioner sought re-classification of vehicle from omnibus to stage carriage. At that stage the respondent required the petitioner to provide the minimum seating capacity as per Rule 151(2) of the Karnataka motor vehicles rules, 1989. Hence, petitioner also sought permission to increase the seating capacity from 38 + 2 to 48 + 2. Respondent granted such permission. The petitioner also paid tax for the increased seating capacity. The vehicle was thereafter classified as a stage carriage. Three weeks after obtaining re-classification as stage carriage by increasing the seating capacity to 48 + 2, the petitioner gave an application proposing to alter the vehicle by reducing the seating capacity from 50 to 40. This was considered and rejected by the respondent by its Order dated 18-09-1991 (annexure 'a'). Feeling aggrieved, the petitioner has filed this petition for quashing Annexure 'a' and seeking a direction to respondent to permit petitioner to reduce the seating capacity from 48 + 2 to 38 + 2.

(2.) the petitioner contends that as the vehicle was originally registered outside state of karnataka, a registering authority in Karnataka has no jurisdiction to require compliance with Rule 151(2) and the owner can have the same number of seats as the vehicle originally had, when it was brought into karnataka. For this purpose, the petitioner relies on the decision of the division bench of this court in Sanjeevaiah v. Regional Transport Officer. The point for consideration is whether the petitioner, having requested for increase in seating capacity of the vehicle from 38 + 2 to 48 + 2 and on that basis having obtained re-classification of the vehicle as a stage carriage, can thereafter seek reduction in the seating capacity which, if granted, will have the effect of violating Rule 151(2). This requires determination of the following points: (a) whether a registering authority can require the owner of a motor vehicle brought into Karnataka from outside karnataka, to comply with Rule 151(2) and if so, in what circumstances? (b) at what stage and by which authority, Rule 151(2) can be enforced or required to be fulfilled?

(3.) the relevant provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 ('act' in short) and the rules framed thereunder, may have to be noticed at the outset.