[(1) Where any motor vehicle is abandoned or left unattended on a public place for ten hours or more or is parked in a place where parking is legally prohibited, its removal by a towing service or its immobilisation by any means including wheel clamping may be authorised by a police officer in uniform having jurisdiction.]
(2) Where an abandoned, unattended, wrecked, burnt or partially dismantled vehicle is creating a traffic hazard, because of its position in relation to the [public place], or its physical appearance is causing the impediment to the traffic, its immediate removal from the [public place] by a towing service may be authorised by a police officer having jurisdiction.
(3) Where a vehicle is authorised to be removed under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) by a police officer, the owner of the vehicle shall be responsible for all towing costs, besides any other penalty.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 127
Section 127 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 authorizes police officers to tow away or wheel-clamp vehicles abandoned for ten or more hours or parked in prohibited areas, mandates immediate removal of hazard-causing wrecks, and imposes all towing and storage costs on the owner.
In challenging arbitrary towing challans or vehicle release delays, scrutinize whether the vehicle was parked in a formally notified no-parking zone under Section 117 or actually remained unattended for the statutory threshold of 10 hours. If the towing occurred outside a designated no-parking zone before 10 hours elapsed, challenge the towing charges as an unauthorized ultra vires exaction.