Union Cabinet to take up Motor Vehicles Bill without major changes

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways will reintroduce in Parliament a bill that reforms driving rules in India without changing the “spirit” of a lapsed legislation.

The Union Cabinet will take up the Motor Vehicles Bill in its next meeting. Changes in the draft essentially mean that year of the Motor Vehicles Bill 2016 will change to 2019 besides other such technical amendments.

“But the contents of the bill remain the same,” the official said, the legislation will be introduced in the Budget session after Cabinet approves it.

Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has spoken about road safety but the passage of Bill did not move as planned. According to the draft, violators of licensing rules would be penalised with fines of up to Rs 1 lakh.

The Bill also provides for a uniform driving licence and vehicle registration processes across various states through the creation of national registers.

Guardians or owners shall be deemed guilty for offences committed by juveniles. These offences would attract a penalty of Rs 25,000 along with three years imprisonment.

The juvenile would be tried under the Juvenile Justice Act and the registration of vehicle will be cancelled.

The Bill proposes hefty penalties ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 1 lakh and that state governments can even increase the fine up to 10 times. 

Victims of hit-and-run cases would now be compensated for up to Rs 10 lakh in case of road accident fatalities. To improve the registration process for new vehicles, registration at the end of the dealer is being enabled and restrictions have been imposed on temporary registration, the statement said.

The Bill also proposes to mandate automated fitness testing for the transport vehicles with effect from 1 October 2018.