Case Background
The case arose from a dispute over the registration of two tankers used by the petitioner for carrying petroleum products of Indian Oil Corporation. The vehicles were originally registered in the State of Haryana. Later, on the request of the petitioner, they were given Bihar registration numbers.
Respondent no. 8 lodged a complaint alleging that the petitioner had used forged and fabricated documents to obtain the Bihar registration numbers. According to the complaint, the numbers being used for the tankers were actually registration numbers of motorcycles in Haryana.
The complainant pursued the grievance before the Public Grievance Authorities. The matter travelled up to the second appellate stage. Ultimately, when it reached the Principal Secretary, Department of Transport, Government of Bihar, an order dated 11.06.2018 was passed. By this order, the Principal Secretary directed the District Transport Officer, Begusarai, to cancel the registration of the petitioner’s two trucks and to initiate criminal action.
Acting on this, the District Transport Officer, Begusarai, issued a notice to the petitioner. On not receiving any response, he passed Memo No. 1467 dated 18.06.2018 cancelling the registration of the two vehicles. An FIR was also lodged on 30.06.2018 in connection with the alleged forgery.
The petitioner then approached the Patna High Court through Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 12404 of 2018, challenging the order of the Principal Secretary dated 11.06.2018. During the case, the petitioner first filed an interlocutory application seeking permission to withdraw the writ petition itself. Later, through another interlocutory application, he sought to withdraw that request and instead amend the writ petition.
The Court allowed I.A. No. 8697/2018, permitting withdrawal of I.A. No. 7684/2018 and allowing amendment of the writ petition. After amendment, the petitioner also challenged the subsequent order contained in Memo No. 1467 dated 18.06.2018 passed by the District Transport Officer, Begusarai, cancelling the vehicle registrations.
What the Court Examined and Decided
Hon’ble Mr. Justice Rajeev Ranjan Prasad of the Patna High Court heard the matter. The main grievance of the petitioner was that the cancellation of registration had been carried out without giving him a proper opportunity of hearing, and therefore violated the principles of natural justice.
The petitioner’s side argued that the District Transport Officer, Begusarai, had acted at the instance of the Principal Secretary, Department of Transport, and cancelled the truck registrations without providing him any opportunity to defend himself. The plea was that such cancellation, affecting the livelihood and business of the petitioner, could not be done without adhering to natural justice.
On the other hand, the District Transport Officer, Begusarai, filed a counter affidavit explaining the circumstances in which he had cancelled the registrations. In paragraph 4 of his counter affidavit, he specifically stated that he had issued a notice to the petitioner, but the petitioner failed to explain the allegations. This assertion was denied by the petitioner, but he did not place material to contradict it beyond bare denial.
The District Transport Officer further stated that the petitioner was using forged numbers on the tankers. The numbers HR-28D-9724 and HR-28D-9726, being used as truck registration numbers, were in fact registration numbers of motorcycles in the State of Haryana at Firozpur (Chirka). He relied upon the registration status of these vehicles, as shown in Annexures B and B/1 to the counter affidavit, to support his stand.
The Court then examined the pleadings and the nature of allegations. The petitioner’s counsel pressed that there had been a violation of principles of natural justice. But the Court stressed that natural justice is not a rigid formula to be applied mechanically in all situations. It has to be applied keeping in view the facts and seriousness of each case.
The Court observed that it would have been inclined to interfere with the impugned orders if, in the writ petition, there had been a clear and positive assertion by the petitioner that the questioned registration numbers were in fact the correct registration numbers of his tankers. However, in the entire writ application, there was no such specific assertion.
Instead, from the materials on record, the case appeared serious. The allegation was that the petitioner had been using registration numbers which originally belonged to two motorcycles in Haryana. The District Transport Officer had produced material indicating that HR-28D-9724 and HR-28D-9726 were registered motorcycles, not tankers.
The Court noted that the matter was still under investigation in view of the FIR lodged on 30.06.2018. At this stage, considering the seriousness of the allegations and the absence of a clear denial by the petitioner regarding the correctness of the registration numbers, the Court did not find any reason to interfere with the orders passed by the Principal Secretary and the District Transport Officer.
Therefore, the Patna High Court held that this was not a fit case in which the plea of violation of natural justice should be used to undo the cancellation of registration. The Court treated the issue as one involving alleged forgery and misuse of vehicle registration numbers, which required proper investigation and evidence rather than interference through a writ at a preliminary stage.
At the same time, the Court recognised that the investigation might later reveal a different picture. It therefore kept the door open for the petitioner. The Court observed that if, during the course of investigation or by producing other clinching materials, the petitioner could show that the tankers were in fact bearing correct registration numbers, it would be open to him to approach the District Transport Officer, Begusarai, for restoration of registration.
In such a situation, the District Transport Officer would be required to consider those materials and, if satisfied that the registrations were correct and genuine, he could restore the registration numbers of the vehicles.
In conclusion, the Court held that no interference was called for at this stage. The writ application was dismissed, but with the liberty already mentioned in favour of the petitioner to approach the District Transport Officer with proper evidence at a later stage.
Why This Judgment Matters
This judgment is important for vehicle owners and transport operators who may face serious allegations like forgery of registration documents. The Patna High Court made it clear that when allegations are grave and supported by some material, the Court will be slow to interfere merely on a technical plea of natural justice, especially at an early stage.
The decision shows that a person who wants the Court to protect him on grounds of natural justice must also clearly state and support his own basic facts. Here, because the petitioner never clearly asserted that the disputed registration numbers actually belonged to his tankers, the Court treated the case as one where prima facie forgery appeared, and left the matter to investigation.
At the same time, the judgment gives an important safeguard. It says that if later the investigation or other strong evidence shows that the registration numbers are genuine, the owner can approach the District Transport Officer to seek restoration. This recognises that wrongful cancellation can be corrected through the proper authority once facts are proved.
For ordinary citizens, the case underlines that documents used for registration of vehicles must be genuine, and any use of false numbers can lead not only to cancellation but also to criminal cases. For officials, it confirms that they can act on serious complaints supported by records, while still being open to revisiting their decision if strong contrary evidence arises.
Legal Issues and Answers
Issue: Whether the cancellation of registration of the petitioner’s two tankers by the District Transport Officer, Begusarai, on the direction of the Principal Secretary, without alleged opportunity of hearing, violated principles of natural justice and required interference by the Patna High Court in writ jurisdiction.
Answer: No. Considering the serious allegation that the tankers were using forged registration numbers originally allotted to motorcycles in Haryana, the materials produced by the District Transport Officer, and the absence of any clear pleading by the petitioner that the impugned numbers were actually correct for his tankers, the Court held that this was not a fit case for interference on the ground of natural justice at this stage. The writ was dismissed, though liberty was granted to the petitioner to later satisfy the District Transport Officer, Begusarai, with clinching material for restoration of registration if the investigation showed otherwise.
Cases Cited by the Court
- No previous judgments are cited or relied upon in the text of this decision.
Case Details
Case Number: Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 12404 of 2018
Case Title: Kumar Jha v. The State of Bihar & Ors.
Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Rajeev Ranjan Prasad
Citation: 2019 (3) PLJR 156
Date of Judgment: 19.02.2019
Advocates: For the petitioner: Mr. Krishna Mohan Mishra, Advocate. For respondents no. 1 to 7 (State authorities): Ms. Smriti Singh, AC to AAG-10. For respondent no. 8: Mr. Gautam Kejriwal, Advocate; Mr. Atal Bihari Pandey, Advocate; Mr. Alok Kumar Jha, Advocate.
Nature of the Case: Writ petition under civil writ jurisdiction challenging orders directing cancellation of vehicle registration and consequential cancellation by District Transport Officer, along with related criminal action.
Link to Judgment: View full judgment on Patna High Court website
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