Karnataka High Court slams RTO officials for illegal seizure of Lamborghini and Mercedes cars, orders departmental inquiry against motor vehicle inspector

Coming down heavily on the Transport Department officials for overstepping their legal authority in seizing two luxury cars, the High Court of Karnataka, in two separate verdicts, has ordered the initiation of a departmental inquiry against a Senior Motor Vehicle Inspector (SMVI) for illegally seizing cars while setting aside the action of seizure of the vehicles.

Justice M. Nagaprasanna quashed a First Information Report (FIR) registered against J. Ramakrishnaiah, proprietor of H1 Car Care, whose black Lamborghini Huracan was seized by SMVI Ranjith N., of Bengaluru South Regional Transport Office (RTO) on February 8.

The officer had filed a complaint for evasion of road tax and registration of the car, allegedly using fabricated documents.

The court found that SMVI had barged into the petitioner’s premises without prior notice, personally towed the vehicle, and shifted it between police stations — all before issuing any demand notice. “The complainant-officer acted as accuser and executioner,” the court observed, noting that Sections 8A and 11A of the Karnataka Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1957, require a demand notice and opportunity of hearing before any seizure for tax recovery.

Ordering the transport authorities to initiate an inquiry against officials of the Regional Transport Office (RTO) found manipulating registration records, the court also gave liberty to the RTO to take necessary action against the petitioner as per the law on tax evasion and other allegations.

Mercedes case

In another judgement, Justice Jyoti M. quashed the seizure of a Mercedes-AMG G63 belonging to Neeraj Kumar Sharma of Mangaluru.

The vehicle was detained in Mysuru on June 15, 2025, by Ranjit, who was posted at Bengaluru South RTO but was deputed to a special squad to detect tax evasion by high-end vehicles and to submit a report to the Mysore West RTO. The reason for seizure was evasion of tax by registering the vehicle with different model name.

However, the court said Mr. Ranjit “acted beyond the scope of his authority as though he himself were the RTO of Mysore West,” while declaring the seizure “without jurisdiction and therefore unsustainable in law.”

The court also condemned the authorities for cancelling the vehicle’s registration while the present petition was pending, calling it a “flagrant disregard for court proceedings” and “taking the law into its own hands.”

“…officials of the RTO are not merely enforcers of statutory provisions but are representatives of the State in their dealings with citizens. Their conduct has a direct bearing on public confidence in the governance. They are, therefore, expected to act with fairness, transparency, empathy, and a high sense of public duty,” Justice Jyoti observed. She ordered release of the car and restoration of its registration.