Allowed

Sreejith Babu v. State of Kerala

Kerala HC3 Aug 2021Crl.MC/3374/2021

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Single judge allowed a Criminal Misc. Case challenging the valuation of a confiscated vehicle under the Abkari Act. The Court held that a Transport Commissioner circular (2012) prescribing valuation criteria based on age and condition could be adopted, but the finding regarding depreciation after five years was explicitly not a binding precedent.

What did the court decide?

Valuation of the confiscated vehicle fixed at Rs. 1,01,500/- instead of Rs. 2,55,000; order of the court below modified accordingly.

Sreejith Babu Vs State of Kerala — Property and Title | Kerala HC (2021)

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM

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PRESENT

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THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE P.SOMARAJAN

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TUESDAY, THE 3^RD DAY OF AUGUST 2021 / 12TH SRAVANA, 1943

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CRL.MC NO. 3374 OF 2021

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AGAINST THE ORDER IN CMP 729/2021 OF JUDICIAL MAGISTRATE OF FIRST

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CLASS (TEMPORARY), SASTHAMCOTTA, KOLLAM

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PETITIONER/PETITIONER:

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SREEJITH BABU AGED 32 YEARS S/O. SATHYA BABU, VIPANCHIKAYIL, MANAKKARA MURI, SASTHAMCOTTA VILLAGE, KUNNATHUR, KOLLAM DISTRICT, PIN-690521.

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BY ADVS. M.P.MADHAVANKUTTY K. REMIYA RAMACHANDRAN

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RESPONDENTS/RESPONDENT:

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STATE OF KERALA REPRESENTED BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, HIGH COURT OF KERALA, ERNAKULAM. PIN-682031.

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BY GOVT. PLEADER SMT.S.SEETHA

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THIS CRIMINAL MISC. CASE HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 03.08.2021, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:

Crl.M.C.No.3374/2021

ORDER

The Circular dated 11/12/2012 issued by the

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Transport Commissioner prescribing guidelines for assessment of value of confiscated vehicles based on the letter No.4164/C1/2011/Trans dated 19/04/2012 of Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau brought to the notice of this Court, in support of challenge against the valuation made by the Assistant Executive Engineer. The officer, who assessed the value appeared in person and submitted that no other guideline is available to fix the value of vehicle for the purpose of Section 53(B) of the Abkari Act. The relevant portions of the Circular is extracted below:

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“ ASSESSING THE VALUE OF CONFISCATED VEHICLE

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For assessing the value of confiscated vehicle, the following criterion may be adopted.

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Condition of the vehicle – If 3 or more items

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come under the column good/satisfactory/bad, the conditions may be considered as

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good/satisfactory/bad respectively.

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Crl.M.C.No.3374/2021

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Sl. No.	Items	Good	Satisfactory	Bad
1	Condition of engine
2	Gear box
3	Differential
4	Chassis
5	Body
6	Painting
7	Distance run or usage

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If the overall condition of the vehicle is good the value of vehicles can be calculated by applying stipulated percentage of depreciation based on age of vehicle (upto the age of 5 years) on purchase value of that particular brand and model (when it was purchased from the dealer), as mentioned below:

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Age of the vehicle	%of Depreciation
Not exceeding 6 months	5%
Exceeding 6 months but not exceeding 1 year	15%
Exceeding 1 year but not exceeding 2 years	20%
Exceeding 2 years but not exceeding 3 years	30%
Exceeding 3 years but not exceeding 4 years	40%
Exceeding 4 years but not exceeding 5 years	50%

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Crl.M.C.No.3374/2021

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If the overall condition of the vehicle is satisfactory the value of vehicles can be calculated by applying stipulated percentage of depreciation based on age of vehicle (upto the age of 5 years) on purchase value of that particular brand and model (when it was purchased from the dealer), as mentioned below:

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Age of the vehicle	% of Depreciat ion
Not exceeding 6 months	10%
Exceeding 6 months but not exceeding 1 year	20%
Exceeding 1 years but not exceeding 2 years	25%
Exceeding 2 years but not exceeding 3 years	35%
Exceeding 3 years but not exceeding 4 years	45%
Exceeding 4 years but not exceeding 5 years	55%

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If the overall condition of the vehicle is bad

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the value of vehicles can be calculated by applying stipulated percentage of depreciation based on age of vehicle (upto the age of 5 years) on purchase value of that particular brand and model (when it

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Crl.M.C.No.3374/2021

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was purchased from the dealer) as mentioned below:

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Age of the vehicle	%	of
	Depre ion	ciat
Not exceeding 6 months	15%
Exceeding 6 months but not exceeding 1 year	25%
Exceeding 1 years but not exceeding 2 years	30%
Exceeding 2 years but not exceeding 3 years	40%
Exceeding 3 years but not exceeding 4 years	50%
Exceeding 4 years but not exceeding 5 years	60%

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For vehicles beyond five years of age, the prevailing market value assessed by the officer concerned, as it is where it is condition, shall be taken as the assessed value.”

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In the absence of other guidelines, there is no

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legal impediment in assessing the value of vehicle for

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the purpose of Section 53(B) of the Abkari Act, based on the said Circular.

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The vehicle involved in the instant case is

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having 8 years oldage and its ex-showroom value comes to Rs.3,50,000/-. For the first five years, the depreciation

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Crl.M.C.No.3374/2021 6

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can be assessed at 50%. But no formula specified after

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the expiry of 5 years for assessment of depreciation,

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except the discretion given to the assessing officer.

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condition as good, the depreciation percentage can be assessed to 71% of ex-showroom value of Rs.3,50,000/-.

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i.e. Rs.1,01,500/-. The assessment of the vehicle at Rs.2,55,000/- by the Assistant Executive Engineer hence

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cannot be accepted. The order of the court below hence stands modified to that extent by fixing the value of vehicle at Rs.1,01,500/-. It is made clear that the

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assessment of depreciation made by this Court after the

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expiry of five years shall not be taken as a binding precedent.

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The Crl.M.C. is allowed accordingly.

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Sd/-

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P.SOMARAJAN JUDGE

Crl.M.C.No.3374/2021

APPENDIX OF CRL.MC 3374/2021

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PETITIONER'S ANNEXURE

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Annexure 1 THE TRUE COPY OF THE FIRST INFORMATION REPORT IN CRIME NO. 672/2021 BEFORE THE SASTHAMCOTTA POLICE STATION, KOLLAM DISTRICT. Annexure 2 THE TRUE COPY OF THE VALUATION REPORT SUBMITTED BY THE ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE ENGINEER P.W.D., MECHANICAL DIVISION BEFORE THE LEARNED MAGISTRATE DATED 24.06.2021. Annexure 3 THE TRUE COPY OF THE REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE OF THE PETITIONER'S VEHICLE BEARING NO. KL61-5223. Annexure 4 THE TRUE COPY OF THE INSURANCE CERTIFICATE DATED 27.05.2021 ISSUED BY THE CHOLAMANDALAM MS GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY LTD., FOR THE PERIOD 28.05.2021 TILL 27.05.2022. Annexure 5 THE TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER DATED 30.06.2021 IN CMP NO. 729/2021 BEFORE THE JUDICIAL FIRST CLASS MAGISTRATE COURT (TEMPORARY), SASTHAMCOTTA.

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/TRUE COPY/

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PS TO JUDGE

Sreejith Babu v. State of Kerala

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Sreejith Babu v. State of Kerala

Case brief

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