Karnataka: 29 years after car bought in auction was seized, man to get Rs 1.9 lakh relief

BENGALURU: After multiple rounds of litigation spanning three decades and extending to the Supreme Court, the saga of a tourist cab which was seized over 31 years ago by the Regional Transport Office, Hassan, will finally come to an end.
The state government has agreed to a transport department proposal for releasing Rs 1,90,855 in favour of Kaleem Pasha, a resident of Magge village in Alur taluk in Hassan district, as per an order passed by the Karnataka high court on March 8, 2018, which has been upheld by the Supreme Court.
The amount to be paid to Pasha includes Rs 38,950 with 15% interest per annum from April 24, 1993 till May 31, 2019. Pasha had bought the tourist taxi in August 1989.
The vehicle originally belonged to a man called Ameer and was seized on December 24, 1988, by the Hassan RTO for non-payment of taxes. On August 8, the vehicle was auctioned at Hassan traffic police station. HR Shivashankar purchased the vehicle for Rs 20,200 and 10 days later, sold it to Pasha for Rs. 30,000. But Ameer moved the high court, challenging the auction. On February 20, 1991, the court ruled in Ameer’s favour.
The authorities were told to hand over the vehicle to Ameer, after collecting dues, but no order was passed on Pasha’s claim. Soon, Pasha moved a local court, seeking Rs 61,400 which he had invested. He said he had entered into a hire purchase agreement with a firm for purchase of the said vehicle and also spent Rs 8,950 on repairs and some more amount for obtaining a temporary permit. In all, he claimed Rs 41,400 was invested in addition to the purchase value. He added that he owed Rs 17,985 with 21% interest on the said amount to the firm with which he had an agreement.
However, authorities claimed Pasha could only proceed against Shivashankar. On September 26, 2000, the local court dismissed Pasha’s claim. He appealed before the district court in Hassan, but the plea was dismissed in 2004. He approached the high court which ruled in his favour in 2018. However, the state government moved the the Supreme Court.