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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
D.K. SINGH, J.
RDS PROJECT LIMITED – Petitioner
Versus
UNION OF INDIA, REP. BY SECRETARY, NEW DELHI – Respondent
WP (C) No. 34814 of 2023
Decided On : 14-10-2024
Motor Vehicle - Cold Recycler - Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 - Sections 2(28), 39 - The court interpreted the definition of 'motor vehicle' and concluded that cold recyclers and soil stabilizers are construction equipment, exempt from registration under the Act, based on government circulars and statutory definitions.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner purchased cold recyclers and soil stabilizers for road work and challenged a challan issued for not registering the equipment as motor vehicles under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that cold recyclers and soil stabilizers are classified as construction equipment and not motor vehicles, thus exempt from registration requirements under the Motor Vehicles Act.
Issues: Whether cold recyclers and soil stabilizers are classified as motor vehicles requiring registration under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the definition of motor vehicle does not include construction equipment like cold recyclers and soil stabilizers, as clarified by the Central Government.
Result: The writ petition is allowed, and the impugned challan is quashed.
JUDGMENT :
D.K. SINGH, J.
1. The present writ petition has been filed by the petitioner, who has purchased the cold recyclers and soil stabilizer machine for executing the road work on NH-66 against the direction for registration of the said equipment as a motor vehicle under the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 and Rules made thereunder (‘the Act’ for short). The petitioner has also challenged the challan in Ext.P6 issued by the 3rd respondent for not registering the said equipment as a motor vehicle by the petitioner.
2. The petitioner company has been awarded the work for the execution of six laning of 30 km between Kadambattukonam-Kazhakkuttam Junction Section of NH-66 in Thiruvananthapuram under the Bharatmala Pariyojana project. The said project is under the control and supervision of the Government of India, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, New Delhi. The petitioner has entered into an agreement dated 19.05.2022 with the National Highway Authority of India, to execute the said work.
3. In connection with the work, the petitioner has purchased a WRITGEN Cold recycler Model WR 240 along with all its accessories to be used for soil treatment, consolidation in road construction and cold recycling of asphalt roads from its manufacturer for an amount of Rs. 60,596,601/-. According to the petitioner, this is a construction equipment and cannot ply on public roads and has to be transported by other vehicle from one location to another for executing the work. The said equipment was brought to the work site at Thiruvananthapuram in a trailer lorry from Bhandgaon, Pune. Apart from the cold recycler machine, other heavy equipment machines are also being used by the petitioner at the work site.
4. An inspection was conducted by the 3rd respondent on the work site on 27.09.2023, and a challan was raised for Rs. 8000/- on the ground that the WIRTGEN cold recycler and soil stabilizer were being used without a registration mark. The officials of the company informed the 3rd respondent that the said machine was a construction equipment and not a motor vehicle, and, therefore, the said equipment/machine was not required to be registered under the provisions of the Act. It was also said that the equipment would not ply on public roads and would only be used within the work site. The petitioner has challenged the said challan (Ext.P6) in the present writ petition.
5. The learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the cold recycler for which the challan in Ext.P6 has been issued by the 3rd respondent is not a motor vehicle and, therefore, the same is not required to be registered as a motor vehicle under the provisions of the Act. The said equipment is used only at the project site as a part of the project work and does not ply on the public roads. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued a circular in Ext.P7 dated 13.07.2020, whereby, it has been directed that the registration/driving licence for road building and Rehabilitation equipment and heavy earth moving machinery would not be required to be registered under the provisions of the Act.
The said circular in Ext.P7 would read as under:
Government of India
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
Transport Bhawan, Parliament Street, New Delhi
Dated the 13th July, 2020
1. The Principal Secretaries/Secretaries, Departments of Transport of all the States/ UTS.
2. The Transport Commissioners of all the States/Union Territories.
Subject: Registration/Driving Licence concerns for Road Building, and Rehabilitation equipment's and Heavy Earth Moying Machineries (HEMM) under Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR), 1989.
Sir,
I am directed to refer to this Ministry's letter of even number dated 09th October 20 and to write that the Ministry has received following representations:
(A) Representation regarding Road Building and Rehabilitation Equipment- wherein concern regarding registration of cold recycling machines and soil stabilization machine (road b
Cold recyclers and soil stabilizers are classified as construction equipment, not motor vehicles, and thus do not require registration under the Motor Vehicles Act.
Machines structurally adaptable for road use are motor vehicles, requiring registration and tax under relevant acts, regardless of exclusive use within private premises.
Heavy Earth Moving Machinery, intended for off-road use only, do not qualify as 'motor vehicles' under the Motor Vehicles Act and are not subject to taxation, as confirmed by expert certifications.
Articles used in the manufacturing process are eligible for concessional tax under Section 8(3)(b) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 and Rule 13 of the Central Sales Tax (R & T) Act, 1957.
The court upheld that the dozer involved in the accident does not meet the definition of 'motor vehicle', thus rendering the claim for compensation unmaintainable.
The amendment to include trailers and semi-trailers under the definition of motor vehicles is valid, as trailers are defined as motor vehicles under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
The main legal point established in the judgment is the interpretation of the term 'portable' in relation to hot mix plants and the requirement for obtaining permission under Rule 68 of the Kerala Pa....
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