The registered owner of a vehicle may not always be the real owner, and the court can reach a conclusion on the real owner of a vehicle when there is a dispute regarding ownership.

JUDGMENT :

A. Pasayat, J. - Correctness of the judgment in an appeal under Sec- 110-D of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 (in short, the 'Act') is questioned in this appeal under the Letters Patent.

2. The fact situation as presented by the parties is to the following effect :

One Sadasiva Rout (respondent No. 2 herein) represented through his father guardian Harihar Rout filed an application u/s 110 A of the Act claiming compensation of Rs. 95,000/- for the injuries sustained by him in an accident on 14.5.1979. One Nilakantha Das (respondent No. 3 herein) is the registered owner of the motor-cycle bearing registration No. ORU 2201 which was involved, in the accident. The Third Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Puri (in short, the 'Tribunal') on consideration of the claims and the evidence on record carne to hold that one Rabinarayan Prusty (respondent No. 1 herein) was liable to pay the compensation quantified at Rs, 20,000/-. For fastening the liability, the Tribunal referred to certain documents relating to transfer of the vehicle to Rabinarayan Prusty. One Mihir Kumar Rath (appellant herein) was impleaded in the proceeding before the Tribunal and it was asserted that he was driving the vehicle. The Tribunal was of the view that material on record was not sufficient to establish that the appellant Mihir was the owner of the vehicle and/or he was driving it when the accident occurred.

3. Rabinarayan assailed correctness of the Tribunal's decision before this Court. The learned Single Judge, who heard the appeal held that though in the normal course he would have remitted back the matter to the Tribunal for consideration of the question as to who was the real owner in view of controversies relating thereto, since there was ample material to show that appellant Mihir was the owner, he decided the apoeal on merits. Reference was made to the admission of ownership by Mihir while taking zima of the vechicle from the police authorities. It was noticed that there was no challenge to the correctness of this admission by Mihir and no attempt was made to explain as to why this admission was made. The admission was considered significant since there was no claim petition in sight when it was made, and the same was against Mihir's own interest. He having not explained as to why such admission was made, it was concluded that he was the owner of the vehicle and he was driving the vehicle when the accident occurred. Accordingly, he was held liable to pay the compensation.

4. Mr. Mukherji, the learned counsel for appellant submits that in view of the materials placed before the Tribunal to show transfer of ownership of the vehicle by Nilakantha to Rabinarayan, merely on the basis of the acknowledgement made while taking zima about the ownership of the vehicle, the liability should not have been fastened on appellant Mihir. The learned counsel for 'respondents, howover, asserts that the analysis made by the learned Single Judge is unimpeachable; and there is no infirmity in the judgment to warrant our interference.

5. in certain circumstances, a person registered as the owner of the vehicle need not. be Held to be the real owner. The contractual transfer of ownership of a vehicle has to precede the application for transfer of ownership. As between the transferor and the transferee, the sale gets completed before the transfer of registration certificate. The failure to report the transfer may involve penal consequences. But that does not interdict the passing of property. It is relevant to indicate that the registration book is not a document of title. However, a presumption can be drawn that the person named in the certificate of registration is the owner of the vehicle in the absence of other materials. His nevertheless open to reach a conclusion on consideration of the materials available as to who is the real owner of a vehicle when there is dispute regarding ownership.

6. Undisputedly Nilakantha is the registered owner. Whatever materials were place