Background

In the matter of Zahoor Ahmad Bhat v. Hirdesh Kumar & Ors. The High Court’s April 2021 judgment directives were not followed, according to the contention of contempt. Zahoor Ahmad Bhat filed a contempt petition against J&K Hirdesh Kumar, the transport commissioner, and other relevant authorities for their failure to abide by a ruling regarding the re-registration of vehicles from outside Jammu and Kashmir that was made on April 29, 2021, by the bench of Justices Ali Mohammad Magrey and Vinod Chatterji Koul.

In the 2021 judgement, the Court issued the following directives:

1. A vehicle registered in one state of India may remain registered there without needing to do so in another state of India.

2. A motor vehicle registered in one state, however, must apply to the new state’s Registering Authority for the assignment of the new registration mark if it is held there for a duration longer than 12 months.

3. Where a motor vehicle’s lifetime tax has already been assessed and paid at the time of registration, no further tax may be assessed or requested on the same vehicle when it is moved from one state to another.

Conclusion of the Court

The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh closed contempt proceedings against Transport Commissioner Hirdesh Kumar after a report was submitted showing compliance with the directions issued by the High Court last year with regard to the re-registration of vehicles. The bench, which included Chief Justice N Kotiswar Singh and Justice Moksha Khajuria Kazmi, stated that the contempt petition had become infructuous after the compliance report was submitted. The court ended the contempt proceedings as soon as the relevant authorities informed it that the instructions had been followed.