IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CWJC No.684 of 2005 Radha Mohan Singh, Son of Late Binda Prasad Singh, resident of Lalita Nikunj, Maurya Vihar Colony, Khagaul, Patna. -Petitioner. VERSUS 1. The State of Bihar. 2. The Secretary-cum-Commissioner, Department of Transport, Government of Bihar, Patna. 3. The District Transport Officer, Patna. 4. M/s Nav Durga Top Tech. Pvt. Ltd. through its Director, U.S. Tiwary, 4th Floor, Biscoman Tower, P.S.-Gandhi Maidan, District-Patna. -Respondents. ----------- 04 19.08.2009 At last on threat being issued by this Court to prosecute the District Transport Officer (D.T.O.), Patna a counter affidavit has been filed after 5 years delay. The writ petitioner’s grievance before this Court was plain and simple. As required under the Motor Vehicles Act and the Rules frames thereunder having acquire a new motor vehicle for personal use he applied for registration thereof, in the Office of the District Transport Officer, Patna in the year 2004 itself and a considerable time having been elapsed and the registration certificate not having been granted he filed this writ petition in the year 2005 for a direction to the respondent to perform their statutory duties and issue registration certificate without which the plying of the motor vehicle itself is illegal. The petitioner faces hardship, every time vehicle stopped for checking, in absence of registration certificate. This is the problem fetched by the District Transport Officer because the law obliges a person to take registration certificate and it obliges the Motor Vehicle Department/Registering Authority to grant the same. If an agency appointed by the Appointing Authority misappropriates the original documents then it is for the Registering Authority to find - 2 - alternative way to comply with law. They cannot sit idle and let the citizens suffer the consequences. It was agency set by them and they are responsible for the consequences. Petitioner is not only one of the persons who is suffering because of inaction on part of the Registering Authority at Patna. There may be hundreds of such applicants. This shows a total failure on part of Registering Authority to realize its statutory duties and to act in accordance therewith. What is more tragic is that in the counter affidavit filed today the District Transport Officer states that no sooner petitioner will submit photocopies of the required documents he would be issued registration certificate. This could have been sent by the District Transport Officer five years back and even before persons like the petitioner moved this Court. This Court wonders for what was the D.T.O. waiting and for whom. In any view of the matter, the learned counsel for the petitioner is handing over today itself all photocopies of all the papers to the counsel for the respondent-D.T.O., who will duly grant in respect thereof, the same would be handed over to the D.T.O., Patna, who would do the needful and deliver the registration certificate in original to the petitioner at the registered address as soon as possible. This disposes of the writ petition. Trivedi/ (Navaniti Prasad Singh, J.)