Motor Vehicles Act, 1988
(1) If any registering authority or other prescribed authority has reason to believe that any motor vehicle within its jurisdiction - (a) is in such a condition that its use in a public place would constitute a danger to the public, or that it fails to comply with the requirements of this Act or of the rules made thereunder, or (b) has been, o r is being, used for hire or reward without a valid permit for being used as such, the authority may, after giving the owner an opportunity of making any representation he may wish to make (by sending to the owner a notice by registered post acknowledgment due at his address entered in the certificate of registration), for reasons to be recorded in writing, suspend the certificate of registration of the vehicle- (i) in any case falling under clause (a), until the defects are rectified to its satisfaction; and (ii) in any case falling under clause (b), for a period not exceeding four months. (2) an authority other than a registering authority shall, when making a suspension order under sub-section (1), intimate in writing the fact of such suspension and the reasons therefor to the registering authority within whose jurisdiction the vehicle is at the time of the suspension. (3) Where the registration of a motor vehicle has been suspended under sub-section (1) for a continuous period of not less than one month, the registering authority, within whose jurisdiction the vehicle was when the registration was suspended, shall, if it is not the original registering authority, inform that authority of the suspension. (4) The owner of a motor vehicle shall, on the demand of a registering authority or other prescribed authority which has suspended the certificate of registration of the vehicle under this section, surrender the certificate of registration. (5) A certificate of registration surrendered under sub - section (4) shall be returned to the owner when the order suspending registration has been rescinded and not before. Corresponding Law. — Section 53 corresponds to section 33 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939. Objects and Reasons. - Clause 54 empowers the registering authorities to suspend the certificate of registration of a motor vehicle, if the vehicle is used for hire or reward without a permit. It also empowers the registering authority to suspend the certificate of registration of a vehicle if the vehicle is mechanically defective or if its use on public road will endanger public safety until the defects are rectified and the vehicle is certified to be road worthy.