RTO loses seized vehicle, assures new

Mumbai: Thane Regional Transport Office (RTO) has agreed to give brand-new CNG auto rickshaw to a man whose auto went missing from the premises of the RTO office, in November 2012.

The auto-driver had approached the high court saying his auto was detained by the RTO officer due to lack of documents, but after fulfilling his document requirements, he found that his auto rickshaw was stolen from the premises. The auto driver approached the HC seeking a new auto-rickshaw and Rs 750 per day as compensation.

A division bench of Justice Ranjit More and Justice Anuja Prabhudesai was hearing a petition filed by Dinesh Raha. According to the petition in the year November 2012, his auto was detained by a RTO officer due to incomplete documents of vehicles and later went missing from the RTO premises. RTO officer kept promising him that very soon they will find his Auto.

In 2017, he approached the Bombay high court and sought direction to be issued to return his vehicle in good condition and provide him Rs 750 per day as compensation.

On June 2018, Nanda Kishore Naik, deputy regional transport officer had filed an affidavit and stated that the officer who had detained the auto has retired and promised that he would provide new vehicle on lieu of non-traceable old vehicle within four week.

On July 18, petitioner Raha was called to the RTO office, but he refused to accept the vehicle saying his old vehicle had four-stroke engines and RTO officer provided him with two-stroke engine vehicle. On last hearing, RTO submitted that the brand new auto-rickshaw would have company fitted CNG fuel engine and would be of Bharat Gas 4 type. Eventually, the petitioner accepted the vehicle.