Section 100 Motor Vehicles Act: Objection to the proposal

Section 100 of Motor Vehicles Act: Motor Vehicle Regulation & Claims Procedure

Official Bare Act Text

Override / Mandate Mens Rea (Intent) Actus Reus (Conduct) Punishment Limitation Monetary

(1) On the publication of any proposal regarding a scheme in the Official Gazette and in not less than one newspaper in the regional language circulating in the area or route which is to be covered by such proposal any person may, within thirty days from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette, file objections to it before the State Government.

(2) The State Government may, after considering the objections and after giving an opportunity to the objector or his representatives and the representatives of the State transport undertaking to be heard in the matter, if they so desire, approve or modify such proposal.

(3) The scheme relating to the proposal as approved or modified under sub-section (2) shall then be published in the Official Gazette by the State Government making such scheme and in not less than one newspaper in the regional language circulating in the area or route covered by such scheme and the same shall thereupon become final on the date of its publication in the Official Gazette and shall be called the approved scheme and the area or route to which it relates shall be called the notified area or notified route: Provided that no such scheme which relates to any inter-State route shall be deemed to be an approved scheme unless it has the previous approval of the Central Government.

(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, where a scheme is not published as an approved scheme under sub-section (3) in the Official Gazette within a period of one year from the date of publication of the proposal regarding the scheme in the Official Gazette under sub-section (1), the proposal shall be deemed to have lapsed. Explanation. In computing the period of one year referred to in this sub-section, any period or periods during which the publication of the approved scheme under sub-section (3) was held up on account of any stay or injunction by the order of any Court shall be excluded.

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 100

Section 100 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 governs the filing and quasi-judicial hearing of objections by affected private operators and the public against a proposed nationalisation scheme, prescribing the procedure for statutory approval, modification, and gazette publication.

Statutory Right to Object: Under Section 100(1), any person affected by the proposed scheme published under Section 99 may file written objections with the State Government within thirty days of publication.
Mandatory Quasi-Judicial Personal Hearing: Section 100(2) commands that the State Government (or its authorized hearing officer) must afford the objectors and the STU a reasonable opportunity of being heard, functioning in a quasi-judicial capacity.
Finality and Statutory Force of Approved Scheme: Upon considering objections, the State Government may approve or modify the scheme under Section 100(3) and publish it in the Official Gazette; the approved scheme becomes law of the land, operating as a statutory regulation.
One-Year Statutory Lapse Rule: Section 100(4) enacts that if no approved scheme is published within one year from the date of publication of the draft proposal under Section 99, the proposal shall lapse automatically.

Key Landmark Precedents:

Neelkanth Prasad v. State of Bihar AIR 1962 SC 1135: The Supreme Court held that the hearing of objections under Section 100 is quasi-judicial in nature; the State Government must consider all objections objectively, and an approved scheme published under Section 100(3) has the force of statutory law, superseding all existing private permits.
Ram Krishna Verma v. State of U.P. (1992) 2 SCC 620 : AIR 1992 SC 1888: The Supreme Court held that once a scheme is approved under Section 100, neither the RTA nor any court can grant temporary or permanent permits to private operators on the notified route in violation of the approved scheme.
Capital Multi-purpose Co-operative Societies Ltd. v. State of M.P. AIR 1967 SC 1815: The Supreme Court held that the hearing officer under Section 100 must be impartial and free from administrative bias, observing natural justice in evaluating objections.

Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

In Section 100 objection hearings, demonstrate through traffic counts and commuter data that the STU has inadequate fleet capacity to cater to public demand, or that the scheme creates severe public inconvenience on connecting rural routes. Monitor the 1-year statutory deadline under Section 100(4): if the State Government fails to publish the final approved scheme within 12 months, file a writ petition declaring the proposal lapsed.

Section 100: Objection to the proposal

Section 100 of Motor Vehicles Act: Motor Vehicle Regulation & Claims Procedure

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 100