Section 196, 197, 198, 199A and 199B of the Motor Vehicles Amendment Act 2019

Omission of section 195 of Motor Vehicles Act

80. Section 195 of the principal Act shall be omitted.

Amendment of section 196 Motor Vehicles Act

81. In section 196 of the principal Act,-

(i) after the words "shall be punishable", the words "for the first offence" shall be inserted;

(ii) for the words "which may extend to one thousand rupees", the words "of two thousand rupees," shall be substituted; and

(iii) after the words "with both", the words ", and for a subsequent offence shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine of four thousand rupees, or with both." shall be inserted.

Amendment of section 197 Motor Vehicles Act

82. In section 197 of the principal Act,-
(i) in sub-section (1), for the words "which may extend to five hundred rupees", the words "of five thousand rupees" shall be substituted;

(ii) in sub-section (2), for the words "which may extend to five hundred rupees", the words "of five thousand rupees" shall be substituted.

Amendment of section 198 Motor Vehicles Act

83. In section 198 of the principal Act, for the words "with fine which may extend to one hundred rupees", the words "with fine of one thousand rupees" shall be substituted.

Insertion of new section 198A Failure to comply with standards for road design, construction and maintenance

84. After section 198 of the principal act, the following section shall be inserted, namely:-

'198A. (1) Any designated authority, contractor, consultant or concessionaire responsible for the design or construction or maintenance of the safety standards of the road shall follow such design, construction and maintenance standards, as may be prescribed by the Central Government from time to time.

(2) Where failure on the part of the designated authority, contractor, consultant or concessionaire responsible under sub-section (1) to comply with standards for road design, construction and maintenance, results in death or disability, such authority or contractor or concessionaire shall be punishable with a fine which may extend to one lakh rupees and the same shall be paid to the Fund constituted under section 164B.

(3) For the purposes of sub-section (2), the court shall in particular have regard to the following matters, namely:-

(a) the characteristics of the road, and the nature and type of traffic which was reasonably expected to use it as per the design of road;

(b) the standard of maintenance norms applicable for a road of that character and use by such traffic;

(d) whether the designated authority responsible for the maintenance of the road knew, or could reasonably have been expected to know, that the condition of the part of the road to which the action relates was likely to cause danger to the road users;

(e) whether the designated authority responsible for the maintenance of the road could not reasonably have been expected to repair that part of the road before the cause of action arose;

(f) whether adequate warning notices through road signs, of its condition had been displayed; and

(g) such other matters as may be prescribed by the Central Government.

Explanation.-For the purposes of this section, the term "contractor" shall include sub-contractors and all such persons who are responsible for any stage in the design, construction and maintenance of a stretch of road.'.

Insertion of new sections 199A and 199B. Offences by juveniles

85. After section 199 of the principal Act, the following sections shall be inserted, namely:-
"199A. (1) Where an offence under this Act has been committed by a juvenile, the guardian of such juvenile or the owner of the motor vehicle shall be deemed to be guilty of the contravention and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly:

Provided that nothing in this sub-section shall render such guardian or owner liable to any punishment provided in this Act, if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence.

Explanation.-For the purposes of this section, the Court shall presume that the use of the motor vehicle by the juvenile was with the consent of the guardian of such juvenile or the owner of the motor vehicle, as the case may be.

(2) In addition to the penalty under sub-section (1), such guardian or owner shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and with a fine of twenty-five thousand rupees.

(3) The provisions of sub-section (1) and sub-section (2) shall not apply to such guardian or owner if the juvenile committing the offence had been granted a learner's licence under section 8 or a driving licence and was operating a motor vehicle which such juvenile was licensed to operate.

(4) Where an offence under this Act has been committed by a juvenile, the registration of the motor vehicle used in the commission of the offence shall be cancelled for a period of twelve months.

(5) Where an offence under this Act has been committed by a juvenile, then, notwithstanding section 4 or section 7, such juvenile shall not be eligible to be granted a driving licence under section 9 or a learner's licence under section 8 until such juvenile has attained the age of twenty-five years.

(6) Where an offence under this Act has been committed by a juvenile, then such juvenile shall be punishable with such fines as provided in the Act while any custodial sentence may be modified as per the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000

Section 199B of Motor Vehicles Act

199B. The fines as provided in this Act shall be increased by such amount not exceeding ten per cent. in value of the existing fines, on an annual basis on 1st day of April of each year from the date of commencement of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, as may be notified by the Central Government.".