- (1.) The writ petitioner seeks for quashing of the letter issued on 30.05.2011 rejecting the prayer for registration of ownership of the vehicle sought for under Section 50 of the Motor Vehicles Act. The requirement contained through the impugned letter is that transferor had dues payable for the permit, which he had taken for the particular vehicle and the amounts outstanding are to the tune of Rs. 13,11,496/-. The rejection of a plea for transfer of registration is made on the ground that without clearing the outstanding and production of No Objection Certificate from the Registering Officer of the vehicle, which is sought to be transferred, the registration cannot be sought for.
(2.) Learned counsel for the petitioner relies on a judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Vasantha Viswanathan and others v. V.K. Elayalwar and others, 2001 8 SCC 133, which brings out the fact that ownership in a motor vehicle is transferred by Section 19 of the Sale of Goods Act and Section 50 does not have any power to control the issue of transfer of ownership. The issue here is not merely the transfer of ownership but registration of the transfer of ownership. The petitioner's relief must stand the test of satisfaction of the procedure which is spelt out under the Motor Vehicles Rules.
(3.) The Central Motor Vehicles Rules contains provisions referring to how the registration, which is contemplated under Section 50 is to be worked out. Rule 55 stipulates the application to be filed in Form No. 30 and Form No. 30 also requires some documents to be filed, which includes the No Objection Certificate from the Registering Officer. The provision relating to No Objection Certificate is brought through Rule 58. The No Objection Certificate under Rule 58 is for the reasons set forth in Section 48 of Motor Vehicles Act. The said Section deals with the requirement in the context of application for transfer of registration. Section 48(5) is relevant: 48. No objection certificate. xxx (5) Before granting or refusing to grant the no objection certificate, the registering authority shall obtain a report in writing from the police that no case relating to the theft of the motor vehicle concerned has been reported or is pending, verify whether all the amounts due to Government including road tax in respect of that motor vehicle have been paid and take into account such other factors as may be prescribed by the Central Government.;