BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court has said that signing Form No 29 and giving a no-objection certificate will not automatically transfer the ownership of a vehicle unless the same is entered in the books of the Regional Transport Office (RTO).
Justice V Srishananda passed this order recently while allowing a petition by Avinash Hariba Alave from Kolhapur in Maharashtra questioning the chargesheet filed against him by Kakati police in a road accident that took place in 2015.
The chargesheet was filed against the petitioner after a car that was proceeding from Belagavi towards Kakati rammed a goods vehicle and a motorcycle. The motorcyclist and those in the goods vehicle were injured in the accident.
The petitioner challenged it stating that he was not the owner of the vehicle when the accident occurred. Therefore, the proceedings against him are impermissible under law. Despite this being brought to the notice of the investigation agency, the chargesheet has been filed against him, he argued.
When the accident occurred, the vehicle was in the name of one Shashikant Shomagouda Patil. However, it was argued that he had sold the vehicle in favour of the petitioner, but he failed to transfer it in his name and get the same entered in the registers maintained by the RTO.
The court, however, stated that unless the erstwhile owner takes steps to get his name removed from the RTO registers and enters the name of the subsequent purchaser, the civil liability will have to be borne by the erstwhile owner. Therefore, it is not permissible for the investigating agency to arraign the petitioner as accused, the court said.
The police are at liberty to investigate the matter and file a report against the owner of the vehicle and those responsible for the accident, the court said.