Snigdha Patra Vs State of Odisha

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF ORISSA AT CUTTACK

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WP(C) No.157 of 2026

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Snigdha Patra …. Petitioner -Versus- State of Odisha and others …. Opposite Parties

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Advocates appeared in this case:

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For Petitioner : Mr. Akshaya Kumar Behera, Advocate For Opposite Party : Mr. Pitambar Acharya, No.1 Advocate General assisted by Mr. Saswat Das, Additional Government Advocate, Mr. Debashis Tripathy, Additional Government Advocate and Ms. Aishwarya Dash, Additional Standing Counsel For Opposite Party : Mr. Pravakar Behera, Standing No.2 Counsel for Transport Department : For Opposite Party Ms. Arpita Mohapatra, No.4 Advocate : For Opposite Party Mr. Srinivas Patnaik, No.6 Advocate : For Opposite Party Mr. Soumya Ranjan Mohanty, No.7 Advocate

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CORAM:

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HON’ BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE AND

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HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE MURAHARI SRI RAMAN

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J U D G M E N T

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---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date of hearing and judgment: 10^th February, 2026

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HARISH TANDON, CJ.-

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1. The instant Public Interest Litigation was filed by the petitioner seeking writ of mandamus upon opposite party nos.1 and 2 to quash the notification dated 20^th December, 2025 with further direction that the authorized agency for issuance of the Pollution Under Control Certificate should not insist for clearance of challan pending against the particular vehicle.

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2. On the last occasion, it was brought to the notice of this Court that on the instruction of the Government, the Petroleum Retail Outlets were refusing to vend the Petrol/Diesel on the pretext that the challan issued against the particular vehicle has not been cleared off. Several provisions of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, l989 (for short, “the Rules”) were cited before this Court, which according to the petitioner, do not contain any such prohibitory provisions.

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3. Learned Additional Government Advocate after taking an

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instruction, brought to the notice of this Court that the prohibitory

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order, which was issued by the Government, pertaining to the sale of the Petrol/Diesel to a particular vehicle, over which there is pending challan, has subsequently been revoked and/or recalled. There is no prohibition in selling the Petrol/Diesel to the owner of vehicle or the person who has brought the motor vehicle to the Petrol pump for purchase of Petrol/Diesel and, therefore, the primary grievance in the instant Public Interest Litigation has already been meted out.

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4. Though the aforesaid point became diluted on the subsequent stand taken by the Government, the ancillary point remained to be answered where the Pollution Under Control Certificate is denied by the authorized agency due to pendency of challan on the said vehicle.

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5. Rule 115 of the Rules contains an exhaustive provisions relating to the emission of smoke, vapour, etc. from the motor vehicles to be tested and clearance certificate issued by the Registered/authorized agent is sine qua non for plying of the vehicle on the road. It also invites penalty to be imposed under Rule 161 of the Rules in the event the driver or the person

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in-charge of the vehicle fails to submit the certificate. Rule 167 of

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the Rules assumes significance in this regard which provides for issuance of the challan in the event of violation of any provisions of the Act or the Rules thereunder and the mode of paying the amount shown in the challan. There appears to be a radical change in the said Rule 167, which stood prior to 20^th January, 2026 and the amended Rules, i.e., the Central Motor Vehicles (Third Amendment) Rules, 2026, as stood now, is reproduced hereunder:-

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“167. Procedure for issuance and payment of challan:-(1) Any police officer in uniform or any other officer, authorized by the State Government in this behalf shall issue a challan, through system either in physical or electronic form, to a person acting in violation of the provisions of the Act, or rules made thereunder.

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(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-rule (1), in case any person who violates the provisions of the Act or rules made thereunder, the State Government can enable auto-generation of challan through electronic monitoring and enforcement system or manually by any police officer or any officer authorized by the State Government.

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(3) The challan issued under sub-rules (1) and (2), shall be delivered to a person who violates the provisions of the Act, rules made thereunder, either by hand or any other physical means within a period of fifteen days, or by electronic means of communication authorized by the Central Government or State Government, within a period of three days.

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(4) Details of challans issued under sub-rules (1) and (2), shall be recorded chronologically on the portal.

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(5) Any person to whom a challan is issued under sub-rules (1) or (2), shall, within a period of forty-five days from the date of such issuance, either accept and pay the amount specified in the challan or contest the challan on the portal along with documentary evidence in such manner and before such authority for redressal, as may be specified by the State Government.

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(6) Where a person does not contest the chalan before the authority referred to in sub-rule (5), such challan shall be deemed to have been accepted by such person on the expiry of a period of forty-five days from the date of issuance of such challan.

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(7) The challan deemed to have been accepted under sub-rule (6), shall be paid, in physical or electronic form, within the next thirty days from the expiry of the period specified under sub-rule (6).

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(8) Where a person contested challan before the authority referred in sub-rule (5), and is not resolved by that authority within a period of the next thirty days from the expiry of the period specified under sub-rule (5) or where such authority after hearing the submission and documentary evidences made by the person against whom the challan has been issued quashes the challan for reasons to be recorded in writing, such challan shall cease to have effect and upload order on the portal.

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(9) Where the authority referred in sub-rule (5) rejects submissions made by the person against whom the challan has been issued, with reasons to be recorded in writing, the person may either pay the said challan within a period of thirty days from the receipt or uploading of such order on the

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portal, or may file an application before a court after depositing fifty per cent of the amount specified in the challan in the manner as may be specified by the State Government.

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(10) If the person referred under sub-rule (9), has neither paid the said challan nor contested the challan before a Court within thirty days from the date of receipt or uploading of the order on the portal, the challan shall be deemed to have been accepted and the amount mentioned in the challan shall be paid either in physical or electronic form, within the next fifteen days from the expiry of the period specified hereinabove.

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(11) A notice shall be sent through electronic means every day from the expiry of the period specified in sub-rule (7) and (10).

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(12) If no action is taken by the person to whom the challan is issued under sub-rule (7) and (10), in such cases, till the disposal of such challans, applications with respect to the license of offender or registration of motor vehicle, as the case may be, mentioned in the challan shall not be processed by the licensing authority or registering authority, as the case may be, except applications relating to any tax issues of motor vehicle, and such vehicle shall be flagged as “Not to be Transacted” on the portal, which shall also automatically send an intimation to the registered owner or the license holder, as the case may be, including through electronic means, till the payment of such challan, on the portal.

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(13) Subject to orders of the Court, in respect of challans issued under this rule, a police officer or any officer authorized by the State Government may detail the vehicle involved in the violation of any provision of this Act or rules made thereunder.”

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6. On a bare reading of the provisions encompassing Rule

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167 of the Rules leaves no ambiguity that in the event any challan is issued perceiving the violation of the provisions of the Act or the Rules, it can be generated either in the physical or in an electronic form and the mode of payment is also indicated therein. We are basically concerned with sub-rule (12) of Rule 167 of the Rules, which postulates that in the event the challans are pending on the motor vehicle after the statutory period provided in the preceding sub-rules thereof, such vehicle shall be flagged as “Not to be Transacted” on the portal unless the payment of such challan is made by the person in-charge of the said motor vehicle. However, an exception is carved out in relation to tax issues of motor vehicle.

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7. This Court deeply pondered upon such expression, i.e., “Not to be Transacted” in order to ascertain the intention behind the legislative amendments to be brought in the form of new get up in Rule 167 of the Rules. The word “transaction” in ordinary commercial parlance connotes sale and purchase of goods, passing of the goods from one hand to another and/or anything related to the dealing in the goods in the commercial field.

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8 . We invited the attention of the learned Advocate General

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as to whether such endorsement put on the portal creates any brindle in issuance of the Pollution Under Control Certificate on the incident of pending challan. The learned Advocate General took us to the letter dated 3^rd April, 2023 issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India with regard to the flagging/blacklisting of the vehicle on “Vahan portal”. The said letter was issued after embracing the technology and its advancement in every sphere of life and launching of a portal by giving its nomenclature as ‘Vahan’ to play a key role not only in due implementation of the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act and the Rules framed thereunder but also its enforcement. The first annexure to the said letter categorises the incidence, which may come within the ambit of the expression “Not to be Transacted” on the said Vahan portal. Nine incidences have been notified therein, which broadly includes–Theft of vehicle, Pending Tax/Arrears, Government decision, Vehicle destroyed/declared total loss by the Insurer/Accident vehicle, Loan defaulter, Vehicle confiscated, Police case, Court case and lastly vehicle offered as surety/guarantee against a bail bond for default of bail condition or

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on demise of the owner of the vehicle, if any, legal heir(s) file a complaint with registering authority not to transfer the ownership of the vehicle in dispute and where challan is pending beyond 90 days and despite the expiry of period of 10 days from the date of issuance of notice, the payment has not been made. The note appended thereto exposits that if the challan is from the date of issuance of notice duly served under Rule 167(6) of the Rules, the vehicles shall be flagged as “Not to be Transacted” and the system shall automatically generate a text message duly sent to the registered owner or the concerned registering authority.

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9. There is a gulf of difference between the incidences, which is within the purview of a particular notion than the meaning to be ascribed or given to such notion. Any of the incidences enumerated in the official documents may be brought within the purview of “Not to be Transacted”, but the meaningful meaning and/or definition to be ascribed to the word “transaction” needs a deeper scrutiny and invite an ambiguity in its understanding. What cannot be transacted appears to be real issue and to be given a meaning in juxtaposition with the intention and the object to be avowedly achieved. The pending challan may be one of the incidences,

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which would come within the purview of the expression “Not to be Transacted”. However, where the transaction includes and imbibes within itself refusal to issue the Pollution Under Control Certificate by a Registered/authorized agency, begging an answer in the instant writ petition in absence of any express or specific definition assigned to “transaction” in the Act or the Rules, the general and grammatical meaning should be given to such word or expression, which is commonly used in an ordinary manner.

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10. We are conscious that if a word or an expression has been defined in the statute, wherever such word or expression appeared therein, it must be assigned the same meaning. The external aid in giving such meaning or ascertaining such meaning should be eschewed in the event such word or expression is defined in the definition clause/section. The power to legislate Act, Rules and Regulation is within the exclusive domain of the Legislative Authority and, therefore, we do not find any fetter on the part of the Legislative Authorities to issue a clarificatory and/or explanatory circulars/letters to render the provisions of the statute workable in a meaningful and purposeful manner.

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11. On the even date when the instant Public Interest

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Litigation was taken up, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India issued a clarificatory letter dated 27^th January, 2026 defining the scope of the term “transaction” appearing under Rule 167(12) of the said amended Rules. It is highlighted that since the Pollution Under Control testing is mandatory, any restrictive meaning to be assigned to the word “transaction” would frustrate the very legislative intent and to render the said provisions meaningless an/or redundant. It further clarifies that if there is pending challan, such “Pollution Under Control Certificate” would come within the meaning of the “transaction”. The cumulative effect of the statutory provision and the clarificatory/explanatory letter so issued leads to an inescapable conclusion that not only the pending challan is one of the incidence of “Not to be Transacted” but the Pollution Under Control testing is one of integral part of the word “transaction”. The moment the negative word is used before any specific word, it has to be understood in the mandatory terms and, therefore, the Court should interpret the expressions used in a statutory form, so that the provisions would look purposeful and in tune with the true spirit

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and the object underlying such incorporation. If the transaction imbibes the Pollution Under Control Certificate and if there is a pending challan, the prohibition created by incorporating the negative words, appears to be a proper meaning and the intention of the maker of the law and, therefore, we do not find any justification in the stand of the petitioner that the authorized/registered agency cannot deny the issuance of Pollution Under Control Certificate on the pretext of pendency of challan on the said motor vehicle. The Court should not issue any mandamus upon the authorities to act either de hors the law or in contravention to the statutory provision as the authorities must act within the precincts of the statutory provisions and cannot be directed to transgress such boundaries set forth therein.

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12. Since the primary relief has already been redressed by the Government in withdrawing the prohibitory order for sale of the Petrol/Diesel on the pretext of pending challan, the other ancillary point having addressed and/or discussed hereinabove in the manner as would appear in the preceding paragraphs, the instant Public Interest Litigation is disposed of.

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13. As a result of the disposal of the writ petition, pending

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Interlocutory Application(s), if any, shall stand disposed of, but in the circumstances there shall be no order as to costs.

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(Harish Tandon) Chief Justice

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(M.S. Raman) Judge

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MRS/Laxmikant

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Signature Not Verified

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Digitally Signed Signed by: LAXMIKANT MOHAPATRA Designation: Senior Stenographer Reason: Authentication Location: High Court of Odisha, Cuttack Date: 17-Feb-2026 14:01:05

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Snigdha Patra v. State of Odisha

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Snigdha Patra v. State of Odisha

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