STATE OF RAJASTHAN Vs. KHALSA TRAVELS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Since common questions of law arise in all these writ petitions and, therefore, they have been heard together and are being disposed of by a common order.

(2.) In this case, there is no dispute that all the permits were surrendered by the vehicle operators and they were accepted or received by the concerned authorities. Once the Registration Certificates were surrendered and were in fact with the Department, the vehicles could not be plied on the roads. Therefore, in our opinion, the vehicle operators are entitled for remission of tax for the period of surrender irrespective of the period mentioned in S. 4B of the Rajasthan Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1951.

(3.) The supreme Court in a very recent judgment reported in State of Gujarat v. Kaushikbhai K. Patel (2000) 6 SRJ 310 : (AIR 2000 SC 2175) in an identical matter held that insistence to satisfy the State Govt. or authorised Officer as to reasons beyond control of registered owner or person in possession for non-use of vehicle beyond a particular period amounts to legislative competence of State. In that case, the Supreme Court has struck down the words' for reasons beyond the control of such owner or person occurring in clause (b) of sub-s. (5) of S. 3-A of the Bombay Motor Vehicles Act, 1958.