ORDER

In SLP (C) Nos. 8280/79, 7276-78/79 and 4607/86

1. Special leave granted in these petitions.

2. The Registry to assign numbers to these appeals.

3. These appeals as well as Civil Appeal Nos. 739-40 of 1979, 285 of 1979, 777-83 of 1979 and 1274-75 of 1986 form a bunch and can conveniently be disposed of by a common order.

4. The common facts in each of these appeals are that the respondents in each case owned a vehicle fit either for passenger transport or goods transport. The respondents vehicles carry Certificates of Registration depending on the kind of vehicle. The respective Certificates of Registration were deposited by the respondents before the Regional Transport Taxing Officer claiming exemption from tax payable under Section 3 of the Karnataka Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1957 (hereinafter referred to as the Taxation Act). The certificates of fitness related to those Certificates of Registration were non-existent, either by efflux of time or otherwise. On the factum of certificates of fitness being non-existent the respondents claimed that the Certificates of Registration had lost currency and, therefore, the Explanation to Section 3(1) of the Taxation Act ceased to apply