Civil Court lacks jurisdiction over disputes under the Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1975, per established precedent.

JUDGMENT

This appeal is preferred by the plaintiff in a suit for mandatory and prohibitory injunction against the judgment and decree of the First Appellate Court reversing the decision of the Trial Court in relation to the payment of road tax of a Matador Long Chasis Tempo Van bearing registration No. KL-8/B-3065. The relief sought for in the suit is to grant a decree of prohibitory injunction restraining the 2^nd defendant from taking any legal action against the plaintiff to recover the tax due on the vehicle which he had already sold to the 1^st defendant on 09.03.1998 as per an agreement.

2. The Trial Court on the basis of the evidence adduced before it found that the 1^st plaintiff is entitled to the relief and accordingly directed the 1^st defendant to pay the tax towards the vehicle in question. Aggrieved by the judgment and decree, the 1^st defendant approached the Sub Court, Ottapalam in A.S. No. 22 of 2008. The First Appellate Court on reappreciation of the evidence came to the conclusion that the decree cannot be sustained and accordingly allowed the appeal and dismissed the suit. Hence, the present appeal.

3. On 19.12.2012, this Court admitted the appeal on the following substantial question of law;

“Whether having regard to the facts and circumstances, the First Appellate Court was legally correct in observing that finding of the Trial Court that by virtue of Ext. A1 the appellant is liable to pay tax is not correct?”

4. Heard Sri. Arya Raghunath, the learned Counsel for the appellant and Sri. K. Denny Devassy, Sri. R. Sreehari, the learned Counsel appearing for the 1^st respondent and the learned Senior Government Pleader for the 2^nd respondent.

5. The question as to, ‘whether a Civil Court has got a jurisdiction to entertain a dispute arising out of the Motor Vehicles Taxation Rules, 1975?’ was considered by a Division Bench of this Court in State of Kerala v. P. Sahadevan [2024 KHC 1394] and it was held that since the Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1975 , provides a separate mechanism for addressing the grievance, and a particular Forum is provided under the statute, that Forum alone could decide and the Civil Court does not have any jurisdiction.

5.1. In view of the dictum laid down by the Division Bench in P. Sahadevan (supra), this Court is of the view the suit itself is not maintainable and, therefore, the judgment of the First Appellate Court does not require any interference under law. Accordingly, finding that the suit itself is not maintainable, this appeal fails and accordingly the same is hereby dismissed. However, the dismissal of this appeal will not preclude the appellant from availing the statutory remedies available under the relevant Act if the same is permissible under law.

Sd/-