Lord Denning:

The plaintiff Sardara Ali is a lorry driver living atNo. 132 Lorong Panjang, Malacca. The defendant Sajan Singh is a haulier living at Bukit Asahan Estate, Malacca. The two of them entered into an illegal transaction about a lorry. They broke the Regulations which governed the transfer and use of motor vehicles. The question is what are their rights consequent on this illegality.

The Regulations in question were made soon after the war by the Commissioner for Road Transport under the powers conferred on him by the Road Transport Proclamation dated 6 October 1945 and they were affirmed and continued afterwards by the Road Transport Amendment) Ordinance, 1949. They fell into two groups.

(i) The Regulations which required vehicles to be registered with the Registrar of Motor Vehicles: under these Regulations any person who had a motor vehicle had to register it and give particulars of his title to it. And it was provided that no person should "sell, exchange, part with the possession of, purchase, acquire or take possession of any motor vehicle without a permit in writing from the Registrar." See s. 2 of the Registration of Motor Vehicles Regulations dated 10