IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA. C.W.P. No. 7554 of 2011. Decided on: 21st September, 2011. Rajni Soni. ….. Petitioner. -Versus- State of Himachal Pradesh and others. …… Respondents. Coram The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Kurian Joseph, Chief Justice. The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Rajiv Sharma, Judge. For the petitioner. : Mr. Ajay Chandel, Advocate. For the respondents. : Mr. Ankush Dass Sood, Addl. A.G. with Mr. J.K. Verma, Dy. A.G.. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Justice Kurian Joseph, C.J. (Oral): Writ petitioner approached this Court with the prayer to permit him to retain the fancy number of his vehicle for his new vehicle. It is seen that in terms of Annexure P-3, notification dated 03.09.2010, such a procedure is permissible. But, there is a proviso, which apparently creates practical problems in actually working out the allotment of number as above. The proviso reads as follows: “Provided further that the owner may retain the registration mark of his vehicle after the sale or scrapping of old vehicle only when the sold motor vehicle is re-assigned a new registration mark by the Registering and Licensing Authority and the primary 2 number is vacated/surrendered subject to the condition that the owner has to get the new vehicle registered within two months from the date of surrender/vacation of the registration number. For retaining the registration mark, no special registration fee shall be charged from the primary owner.” 2. If it is to be understood, in terms of the proviso as above, the transferee of the old vehicle has to surrender the number first and then, the transferor is to have the number allotted to him. What happens to the new vehicle in the meanwhile purchased by the transferor and what happens if the transferee is unwilling after the transfer to surrender the number, are the practical problems. Therefore, in order to work out the object behind the notification, it has to be read down in a pragmatic manner without doing any violence to the object, sought to be achieved or the notification in that regard. 3. When the owner of the motor vehicle intends to transfer that vehicle to another person retaining the number of that vehicle for his new vehicle, he may first apply to the Registering Authority to allot that number to the new vehicle purchased by him. After such allotment, the old vehicle shall be allotted a new number and after such process only, the transfer be permitted. 3 4. In the above circumstances, this writ petition is disposed of as follows: “(i) The Principal Secretary (Transport), to the Government of Himachal Pradesh shall issue an appropriate instruction in the light of what is held in this judgment, immediately to all the officers concerned. (ii) There will be a direction to the petitioner to surrender his old number to the third respondent immediately and on such surrender, the third respondent shall allot that number to the new vehicle purchased by the petitioner and old vehicle which the petitioner proposes to transfer shall be allotted a new number and thereafter the petitioner may transfer the said vehicle. The process of surrender, allotment and re-numbering shall be done within a week from today. A copy of this judgment, duly authenticated by the Court Master, be supplied to the petitioner. (Justice Kurian Joseph), Chief Justice. (Justice Rajiv Sharma), Judge. September 21, 2011. (bhupender/K. Attri)