The Motor Vehicles Act 1988: Scheme and Definitions

That last limb decides many claims: the financier in whose name the vehicle stands is not the owner for this purpose if the vehicle is in the possession of a hire-purchaser.

"Driver", section 2(9). Includes, in relation to a motor vehicle drawn by another motor vehicle, the person who acts as a steersman of the drawn vehicle.

"Public place", section 2(34). A road, street, way or other place, whether a thoroughfare or not, to which the public have a right of access, and includes any place or stand at which passengers are picked up or set down by a stage carriage.

"Public service vehicle", section 2(35). Any motor vehicle used or adapted to be used for the carriage of passengers for hire or reward, including a maxicab, a motorcab, a contract carriage and a stage carriage.

"Goods carriage", section 2(14). Any motor vehicle constructed or adapted for use solely for the carriage of goods, or any motor vehicle not so constructed or adapted when used for the carriage of goods.

"Permit", section 2(31), and "prescribed", section 2(32), carry their ordinary statutory meanings.

Sections 2A and 2B. Section 2A applies the Act to e-carts and e-rickshaws with the modifications it states, and section 2B requires the Central Government to promote innovation, including the issue of exemptions for testing and research.

Why the definitions matter

A claim before a Claims Tribunal exists only where there was an accident arising out of the use of a motor vehicle. Each of the words is a definition, and each has been litigated: whether the machine was a motor vehicle, whether it was being used, whether the place was a public place, and who the owner was for the purpose of liability.

Shivaji Dayanu Patil v. Vatschala Uttam More, decided on 17 July 1991, is the case on how widely "arising out of the use of a motor vehicle" is read, and chapter [What a Motor Accident Claim Is] works it out.

A worked example

Five machines, and whether the Act applies.

A car on a highway. Plainly a motor vehicle in a public place.

A crane working inside a factory yard and never taken on a road. Excluded by section 2(28), which takes out a vehicle of a special type adapted for use only in a factory or other enclosed premises.

A tractor with a trailer on a village road. A motor vehicle, and the trailer is expressly included.

A goods lorry on hire purchase, registered in the financier's name and driven by the hirer. The owner for the purposes of the Act is the person in possession under the hire-purchase agreement, by section 2(30).

A tram running on fixed rails. Excluded.

What it does NOT mean

Chapter X is not the law. Sections 140 to 144 stand omitted since 1 April 2022.

The registered owner is not always the owner. A hire-purchaser in possession is.

A private compound is not necessarily outside. "Public place" turns on the public's right of access, not on ownership.

Not every machine on wheels is a motor vehicle. Section 2(28) excludes rail vehicles, factory-only vehicles and small engine capacities.

Quick revision

1. Act 59 of 1988; the operative parts for this syllabus are Chapters XI and XII.
2. Chapter X, sections 140 to 144, was omitted with effect from 1 April 2022 by section 50 of the amending Act of 2019, notified by S.O. 859(E).
3. Chapter XI, sections 145 to 164D, was substituted whole with effect from the same date.
4. Section 2(28): motor vehicle, including a chassis and a trailer, excluding rail vehicles, factory-only vehicles and vehicles below the stated engine capacity.
5. Section 2(30): owner is the registered person, the guardian of a minor, or the person in possession under a hire-purchase, lease or hypothecation agreement.
6. Section 2(34): public place is a place to which the public have a right of access, including a stage carriage stand.
7. Sections 2(9), 2(14), 2(31), 2(32) and 2(35) supply driver, goods carriage, permit, prescribed and public service vehicle.
8. Sections 2A and 2B deal with e-carts and e-rickshaws and with the promotion of innovation.

Test yourself

1. What are the parts of the Motor Vehicles Act 1988 that matter to a claim for compensation, and what changed in 2022? Chapter XI, on insurance against third party risks, and Chapter XII, on Claims Tribunals, together with the definitions in section 2. The change is fundamental. S.O. 859(E) of 25 February 2022, made under section 1(2) of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019, appointed 1 April 2022 for sections 50 to 57 and 93 of that Act. In consequence Chapter X, which contained the old no-fault liability in sections 140 to 144, stands omitted; the whole of Chapter XI was substituted, so that sections 145 to 164 are new and sections 164A to 164D were added; section 165 now refers to section 164; section 166 acquired a six-month limitation in sub-section (3) and a new sub-section (5); section 169 acquired the powers of a civil court in execution; section 173 raised the appeal threshold to one lakh rupees; and the Second Schedule was omitted. Neither the consolidation on India Code nor any textbook printed before 2022 shows these changes.

2. Define motor vehicle, owner and public place, and explain why each matters. Section 2(28) defines a motor vehicle as any mechanically propelled vehicle adapted for use upon roads, whether the power is transmitted from an external or internal source, including a chassis without a body and a trailer, but excluding a vehicle running on fixed rails, a vehicle of a special type adapted for use only in a factory or other enclosed premises, and a vehicle with fewer than four wheels below the stated engine capacity; it matters because the Tribunal's jurisdiction depends on the accident arising out of the use of a motor vehicle. Section 2(30) defines owner as the person in whose name the vehicle is registered, the guardian where that person is a minor, and, where the vehicle is subject to a hire-purchase, lease or hypothecation agreement, the person in possession under that agreement; it matters because liability and the insurer's obligations attach to the owner, and a financier in whose name the vehicle stands is not the owner if a hire-purchaser holds it. Section 2(34) defines a public place as a road, street, way or other place, whether a thoroughfare or not, to which the public have a right of access, including a stage carriage stand; it matters because the obligation to insure under section 146 applies to use in a public place.