[(1) Any officer of the Motor Vehicles Department [or any other person authorised in this behalf by the State Government] shall, if he has reason to believe that a goods vehicle or trailer is being used in contravention of section 113,] require the driver to convey the vehicle to a weighing device, if any, within a distance of ten kilometres from any point on the forward route or within a distance of twenty kilometres from the destination of the vehicle for weighment; and if on such weighment the vehicle is found to contravene in any respect the provisions of section 113 regarding weight, he may, by order in writing, direct the driver to off-load the excess weight at his own risk and not to remove the vehicle or trailer from that place until the laden weight has been reduced or the vehicle or trailer has otherwise been dealt with so that it complies with section 113 and on receipt of such notice, the driver shall comply with such directions.
(2) Where the person authorised under sub-section (1) makes the said order in writing, he shall also endorse the relevant details of the overloading on the goods carriage permit and also intimate the fact of such endorsement to the authority which issued that permit.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 114
Section 114 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 empowers enforcement officers to divert suspected overloaded goods vehicles to a weighbridge within 10 km on the forward route or 20 km from destination, order mandatory off-loading of excess cargo at the driver's risk, and endorse the permit.
When challenging a seizure or penalty under Section 114, verify the exact geographical location of the weighbridge relative to the truck's forward route. If the diversion exceeded the 10 km / 20 km statutory boundary, challenge the enforcement action as ultra vires. For consigner clients, ensure warehouse contracts stipulate indemnity for off-loading storage costs incurred under Section 114 orders.