Government auction processes must transparently disclose all statutory restrictions to ensure fair transactions and uphold public trust.

JUDGMENT

The petitioner is the auction purchaser and present custodian of a Mahindra LMV Motor Car bearing registration No. KL-01-AT-239. The said vehicle originally belonged to the Kerala Forest Department and was brought for e-auction through the third respondent, MSTC Ltd., a public- sector undertaking under the Ministry of Steel, Government of India, primarily engaged in e-commerce services, including e-auction, and procurement. Ext. P1 e-auction notice dated 03.01.2024 was issued by the 1^st respondent, and the auction was conducted on 17.01.2024, and the petitioner purchased the vehicle for an amount of Rs.3,36,301/- along with GST.

2. The vehicle was originally registered with the 1^st respondent vide Ext. P1(A) with Registration No. KL01-AT-239, and used by the 2^nd respondent. Pursuant to payment, the Divisional Forest Officer, Thiruvananthapuram, issued an order directing the release of the vehicle, and the Range Forest Officer, Paruthippally, released the same to the petitioner on 26.02.2024 along with the original registration certificate.

2.1. After taking delivery, the petitioner approached the 4^th respondent, the Regional Transport Officer, Idukki, for endorsement of the transfer of ownership in his name. The registering authority declined to effect transfer, stating that under Rule 52-A of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 , the certificate of registration of a Government vehicle expires after fifteen years from the date of its initial registration and cannot be renewed thereafter. The vehicle in question had been registered on 21.05.2008, and fifteen years had expired on 20.05.2023.

2.2. The petitioner contends that the embargo in Rule 52-A applies only to the renewal of the registration certificate of vehicles owned by the Central Government, State Government, or their instrumentalities, and not to the transfer of ownership to a private person after such vehicle is disposed of by public auction. Once ownership stands transferred through a valid auction sale, the vehicle ceases to be Government property and the bar on renewal or continued registration under Rule 52-A no longer survives.

2.3. It is further submitted that the petitioner purchased the vehicle in bona fide belief, based on representations and conduct of the auctioning authorities, that there was no statutory bar to transfer. On a previous occasion, an e-auction of a condemned Excise Department vehicle had been cancelled, citing expiry of registration beyond fifteen years, but in the present auction, no such restriction was notified, and the vehicle was sold as fit for transfer. The petitioner has since expended considerable sums in repairing and restoring the vehicle, which is now in a roadworthy condition. Denial of transfer, after having accepted the bid amount and completed delivery, is asserted to be arbitrary, unreasonable and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution.

2.4. The petitioner accordingly seeks a declaration that Rule 52-A of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 , does not bar transfer of ownership of a Government vehicle sold by auction for private use even after fifteen years from its initial registration; a direction to the fourth respondent to endorse transfer of ownership of vehicle KL-01-AT-239 in his name; and, in the alternative, refund of the sale consideration of Rs.3,36,301/- together with appropriate compensation for the loss sustained due to the illegal action of the respondents.

3. The Deputy Solicitor General of India filed a statement and set out the relevant statutory provisions governing transfer and registration of vehicles under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 , and the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 . Reference is made to Section 50 of the Act, which prescribes the manner in which transfer o