Sections 200, 201 and 206 of the Motor Vehicles Act
These provisions regulate composition of specified traffic offences, penalties and removal charges for vehicles obstructing traffic, and the power of police or other authorised persons to impound documents and seize driving licences in specified cases.
Section 200 - Composition of certain offences
Composition means settlement of a compoundable offence by payment of the amount specified under the statutory scheme, either before or after prosecution is instituted. Section 200 lists the Motor Vehicles Act offences that may be compounded by officers or authorities and for amounts notified by the State Government.
The current section includes specified offences under sections 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, specified parts of section 182A, section 182B, specified parts of section 183, section 184 only to the extent of use of handheld communication devices, and specified offences under sections 186, 189, 190, 192, 192A, 194 to 194F, 196 and 198.
Community serviceThe State Government may require community service in addition to the notified compounding amount.
Effect of compoundingWhen an offence is compounded, the offender in custody is discharged and no further proceedings are taken in respect of that offence. However, the compounded offence remains a previous commission for determining whether a later offence is a subsequent offence. Compounding also does not discharge proceedings under section 206(4), driver refresher training or community-service obligations where applicable.
Section 201 - Penalty for causing obstruction to free flow of traffic
Section 201 applies where a motor vehicle is kept in a public place in a manner that obstructs the free flow of traffic. The 2019 amendment removed the former limitation to a "disabled" vehicle.
The amended section provides a penalty up to Rs. 500 while the vehicle remains in the obstructing position. For a vehicle involved in an accident, the statutory proviso protects the period required for completion of inspection formalities.
Removal and storage chargesIf the vehicle is removed by an agency authorised by the Central Government or State Government, removal charges are recoverable from the vehicle owner or person in charge. "Removal charges" include the costs of moving the vehicle from one location to another and storage-related costs.
Breakdown exceptionSection 201(1) does not apply where the motor vehicle has suffered an unforeseen breakdown and is in the process of being removed.
Section 206 - Power of police officer to impound document
Section 206 empowers police officers or other authorised persons, in the circumstances stated in the section, to seize specified documents. The 2019 amendment added a specific driving-licence seizure mechanism in sub-section (4).
If the authorised officer has reason to believe that the driver committed an offence under section 183, 184, 185, 189, 190, 194C, 194D or 194E, the officer shall seize the driving licence and forward it to the licensing authority for disqualification or revocation proceedings under section 19.
Temporary acknowledgementThe person surrendering the licence must receive a temporary acknowledgement. The Act expressly states that this acknowledgement does not authorise the holder to drive until the licence is returned.
Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 - amendment text
Amendment of section 200 of Motor Vehicles Act
86. In section 200 of the principal Act,- (i) in sub-section (1),- (a) for the words, figures and brackets "punishable under section 177, section 178, section 179, section 180, section 181, section 182, sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) of section 183, section 184, section 186, section 189, sub-section (2) of section 190, section 191, section 192, section 194, section 196, or section 198,", the words, brackets, figures and letters "punishable under section 177, section 178, section 179, section 180, section 181, section 182, sub-section (1) or sub-section (3) or sub-section (4) of section 182A, section 182B, sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) of section 183, section 184 only to the extent of use of handheld communication devices, section 186, section 189, sub-section (2) of section 190, section 192, section 192A, section 194, section 194A, section 194B, section 194C, section 194D, section 194E, section 194F, section 196, section 198," shall be substituted; (b) the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:- "Provided that the State Government may, in addition to such amount, require the offender to undertake a period of community service."; (ii) after sub-section (2), the following provisos shall be inserted, namely:- "Provided that notwithstanding compounding under this section, such offence shall be deemed to be a previous commission of the same offence for the purpose of determining whether a subsequent offence has been committed: Provided further that compounding of an offence will not discharge the offender from proceedings under sub-section (4) of section 206 or the obligation to complete a driver refresher training course, or the obligation to complete community service, if applicable.".
Amendment of section 201 of Motor Vehicles Act
87. In section 201 of the principal Act,-
(i) in sub-section (1),-
(a) the word "disabled" shall be omitted;
(b) for the words "fifty rupees per hour", the words "five hundred rupees" shall be substituted;
(c) in the second proviso, for the words "a Government Agency, towing charges", the words "an agency authorised by the Central Government or State Government, removal charges" shall be substituted;
(ii) in sub-section (2), for the words "towing charges", the words "removal charges" shall be substituted;
(iii) after sub-section (2), the following sub-section shall be inserted, namely:-
"(3) sub-section (1) shall not apply where the motor vehicle has suffered an unforeseen breakdown and is in the process of being removed.";
(iv) after sub-section (3), the following Explanation shall be inserted, namely:-
'Explanation.-For the purposes of this section, "removal charges" includes any costs involved in the removal of the motor vehicle from one location to another and also includes any costs related to storage of such motor vehicle.'.
Amendment of section 206 of Motor Vehicles Act
88. In section 206 of the principal Act, after sub-section (3), the following sub-section shall be inserted, namely:- "(4) A police officer or other person authorised in this behalf by the State Government shall, if he has reason to believe that the driver of a motor vehicle has committed an offence under any of sections 183, 184, 185, 189, 190, 194C, 194D, or 194E, seize the driving licence held by such driver and forward it to the licensing authority for disqualification or revocation proceedings under section 19: Provided that the person seizing the licence shall give to the person surrendering the licence a temporary acknowledgement therefor, but such acknowledgement shall not authorise the holder to drive until the licence has been returned to him.".
Official resources
Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 - India Code
Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 - official consolidated PDF