Section 96 Motor Vehicles Act: Power of State Government to make rules for the purposes of this Chapter

Section 96 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) A State Government may make rules for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this Chapter.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, rules under this section may be made with respect to all or any of the following matters, namely:

(i) the period of appointment and the terms of appointment of and the conduct of business by Regional and State Transport Authorities and the reports to be furnished by them;

(ii) the conduct of business by any such authority in the absence of any member (including the Chairman) thereof and the nature of business which, the circumstances under which and the manner in which, business could be so conducted;

(iii) the conduct and hearing of appeals that may be preferred under this Chapter, the fees to be paid in respect of such appeals and the refund of such fees;

(iv) the forms to be used for the purposes of this Chapter, including the forms of permits;

(v) the issue of copies of permits in place of permits lost, destroyed or mutilated;

(vi) the documents, plates and marks to be carried by transport vehicles, the manner in which they are to be carried and the languages in which any such documents are to be expressed;

(vii) the fees to be paid in respect of applications for permits, duplicate permits and plates;

(viii) the exemption of prescribed persons or prescribed classes of persons from payment of all or any or any portion of the fees payable under this Chapter;

(ix) the custody, production and cancellation on revocation or expiration of permits, and the return of permits which have been cancelled;

(x) the conditions subject to which, and the extent to which, a permit granted in another State shall be valid in the State without countersignature;

(xi) the conditions subject to which, and the extent to which, a permit granted in one region shall be valid in another region within the State without countersignature.

(xii) the conditions to be attached to permits for the purpose of giving effect to any agreement such as is referred to in clause (iii) of sub-section (1) of section 67;

(xiii) the authorities to whom, the time within which and the manner in which appeals may be made;

(xiv) the construction and fittings of, and the equipment to be carried by, stage and contract carriages, whether generally or in specified areas;

(xv) the determination of the number of passengers a stage or contract carriage is adapted to carry and the number which may be carried;

(xvi) the conditions subject to which goods may be carried on stage and contract carriages partly or wholly in lieu of passengers;

(xvii) the safe custody and disposal of property left in a stage or contract carriage;

(xviii) regulating the painting or marking of transport vehicles and the display of advertising matter thereon, and in particular prohibiting the painting or marking of transport vehicles in such colour or manner as to induce any person to believe that the vehicle is used for the transport of mails;

(xix) the conveyance in stage or contract carriages of corpses or persons suffering from any infectious or contagious disease or goods likely to cause discomfort or injury to passengers and the inspection and disinfection of such carriages, if used for such purposes;

(xx) the provision of taxi meters on motorcabs requiring approval or standard types of taxi meters to be used and examining testing and sealing taxi meters;

(xxi) prohibiting the picking up or setting down of passengers by stage or contract carriages at specified places or in specified areas or at places other than duly notified stands or halting places and requiring the driver of a stage carriage to stop and remain stationary for a reasonable time when so required by a passenger desiring to board or alight from the vehicle at a notified halting place;

(xxii) the requirements which shall be complied with in the construction or use of any duly notified stand or halting place, including the provision of adequate equipment and facilities for the convenience of all users thereof; the fees, if any, which may be charged for the use of such facilities, the records which shall be maintained at such stands or places, the staff to be employed thereat, and the duties and conduct of such staff, and generally for maintaining such stands and places in a serviceable and clean condition;

(xxiii) the regulation of motorcab ranks;

(xxiv) requiring the owners of transport vehicles to notify any change of address or to report the failure of or damage to any vehicle used for the conveyance of passengers for hire or reward;

(xxv) authorising specified persons to enter at all reasonable times and inspect all premises used by permit holders for the purposes of their business;

(xxvi) requiring the person in charge of a stage carriage to carry any person tendering the legal or customary fare;

(xxvii) the conditions under which and the types of containers or vehicles in which animals or birds may be carried and the seasons during which animals or birds may or may not be carried;

(xxviii) the licensing of and the regulation of the conduct of agents or canvassers who engage in the sale of tickets for travel by public service vehicles or otherwise solicit customers for such vehicles;

(xxix) the licensing of agents engaged in the business of collecting for forwarding and distributing goods carried by goods carriages;

(xxx) the inspection of transport vehicles and their contents and of the permits relating to them;

(xxxi) the carriage of persons other than the driver in goods carriages;

(xxxii) the records to be maintained and the returns to be furnished by the owners of transport vehicles; and [(xxxiia) framing of schemes under sub-section (3) of section 67;

(xxxiib) the promotion of effective competition, passenger convenience and safety, competitive fares and prevention of overcrowding;]

(xxiii) any other matter which is to be or may be prescribed. Chapter VI Special Provisions Relating To State Transport Undertakings

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 96

Section 96 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 provides plenary delegated rule-making authority to State Governments to implement the provisions of Chapter V, governing permit application forms, procedural conduct of RTAs and STAs, fee structures, bus stands, and compounding of offences.

Plenary Scope for Chapter V Implementation: Empowers the State Government under Section 96(1) to enact comprehensive rules regarding the conduct of business by RTAs and STAs, quorum, hearing procedures, and issuance of permits.
Designation and Management of Bus Stands and Halts: Under Section 96(2)(xxi), State Governments frame rules regulating the establishment, fee collection, maintenance, and operational management of public bus stands, cart stands, and vehicle halting places.
Compounding Fees and Administrative Mechanics: Governs the prescription of fees for permit applications, renewals, replacements, countersignatures, and the compounding penalty rates leviable under Section 86(5) in lieu of permit suspension.

Key Landmark Precedents:

Municipal Board, Pushkar v. State Transport Authority AIR 1965 SC 458: The Supreme Court held that the power to regulate and shift bus stands under rules framed pursuant to Section 96 (and predecessor Section 68 of the 1939 Act) is an administrative-regulatory power designed for public safety and traffic decongestion.
State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal AIR 1993 SC 1348: The Supreme Court reaffirmed that administrative and rule-making discretion granted under transport statutes must be exercised within statutory boundaries and cannot violate fundamental rights under Article 19(1)(g).

Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

When contesting an RTA's notification shifting a designated bus stand or halting place to the city outskirts, verify whether the procedure framed under Section 96 rules (including prior public notice and hearing of objections) was observed. Procedural non-compliance under Section 96 rules invalidates the stand relocation order.

Section 96: Power of State Government to make rules for the purposes of this Chapter

Section 96 of Motor Vehicles Act: Motor Vehicle Regulation & Claims Procedure

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 96