RAVEENDRAN Vs. R T O KANNUR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Appellant claims to be the owner of a goods vehicle (lorry). He applied for a goods carriage permit before the Regional Transport Authority (for short 'the RTA') concerned, but the said authority did not grant, the permit. He, therefore, filed the Original Petition for a writ of mandamus directing the RTA to grant the permit. Learned single Judge before whom the Original Petition came up, dismissed it on the ground that as the appellant is not the registered owner of the vehicle he is not entitled to get a permit. This appeal is against the said judgment.

(2.) According to the appellant, the lorry (KRD 457) belonged to one C.P.K. Balan (who is the registered owner of the vehicle even now) who transferred the vehicle to another person and from the latter it was purchased by the appellant. The first owner C.P.K. Balan had entered into a Hire Purchase Agreement with a financier. The hire purchase liability was taken over by the purchaser of the vehicle and according to the appellant he had cleared the said liability and insisted on the financier to issue a clearance certificate. A goods carriage permit was earlier issued by the RTA in respect of the vehicle, but its period expired on 19-8-1993. Appellant then made Ext. P3 application for a goods carriage permit But the second respondent took a stand that the permit could be issued only after transfer of registration of the vehicle in the name of the appellant. Due to some snag, the transfer of registration has not taken place till now. Original Petition was, therefore, filed by the appellant for directing the RTA to grant the permit.

(3.) Appellant contended that under S.66(1) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (for short 'the Act') it is not necessary that the applicant for a permit should necessarily be the registered owner of the vehicle. Any one in lawful possession of the vehicle, even if he is not a registered owner, can be the holder of a permit, according to the learned counsel. Appellant relied on the decision of a single Judge of this Court reported in Dakshayani v. State Transport Appellate Tribunal ( 1990 (2) KLT 885 ) to support his claim,