BENGALURU: Taking the Senior Motor Vehicle Inspector (SMVI) to task for showing ‘heroism’ by towing away a Lamborghini car from the garage of the owner of a corporate company in Sahakara Nagar at midnight in his absence, despite he having paid Rs 1 crore as GST and Rs 60 lakh as road tax, the Karnataka High Court stayed further investigation against the car owner based on the complaint registered by the SMVI with Kodigehalli police station on the charges of cheating, forgery and fabrication of documents in the process of registration of the vehicle.
Insofar as the contention that the SMVI, Ranjith N, the complainant before the police, had the power to go himself, seize and tow the vehicle at 11.30 pm and place it at various police stations, is concerned, the court sought a reply from the State Public Prosecutor (SPP) and cautioned that it will order enquiry against the SMVI if there are no power to do so.
Passing the order after hearing the petition filed by H1 Car Care, Justice M Nagaprasanna took serious exception to not registering the case against the Regional Transport Office (RTO) officials who were involved in the process of registration, if the fraud was really played.
The petitioner purchased a Lamborghini Huracan car from an authorised dealer for Rs 3,00,68,729 on September 1, 2025. He paid Rs 1 crore GST and Rs 60 lakh road tax. The vehicle was sent for registration by the dealer to the RTO at Indiranagar in the city, where it was registered on September 19, 2025, but the manufacturing year was 2021.
The court observed that it may dismiss the petition if there is really fraud on the part of the petitioner, but it will not spare the ‘heroism’ of SVMI if he fails to show the power to enter into the garage of a private house, take the vehicle outside at midnight when nobody is in the house.
According to the petitioner, the SVMI, after registration of the crime, in the absence of the petitioner or in the absence of any notice to the petitioner, enters the house, goes to the garage, tows the vehicle himself and takes it away. The petitioner then approached every police station to find out where the vehicle was.
The SPP contended that the petitioner purchased the car from a Telangana-based company, which purchased it in 2022 with a temporary certificate of registration, with permission to obtain permanent registration in Telangana, but it was not registered and returned to the original dealer, who used it as a demo vehicle, subsequently put it for sale.
The petitioner had forged and caused loss to the state, apart from forging invoices. Following due process, the SMVI took action. If there is fraud played by RTO office by effacing the earlier details of registration, new details are keyed in the office, and every officer involved in the crime will be brought to book by registering the crime against them, the SPP told.