No Suspension Of Vehicle's Registration Without Proof Of Overloading: Rajasthan High Court

The Rajasthan High Court said that the orders passed by the District Transport Officer, Kothputli suspending registration of vehicles based on allegations by Department of Mines that vehicles were overloaded without actual weighing the vehicles, were unsustainable. 

The bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand highlighted that the orders were passed merely on the basis of an assumption, relying solely on the report received from the Mining Department, and without actually measuring the weights of the vehicles.

“…order of suspension of registration of the vehicles shall be passed by the Transport Department, only after physical verification of the vehicles, including weighing and measurements of such vehicles that too solely in the cases where overloading is found and established upon such verification. The registration of vehicles should not be suspended based merely on the allegations of overloading on the basis of data or information received from the Department of Mines.”

"In the considered opinion of this Court, unless and until the allegation of overloading is established by physically weighing the vehicles, the registration of subject vehicles cannot be suspended. Therefore, the impugned orders are not sustainable in the eyes of law. In case, it is found that there has been an alteration in the make/design of the vehicles, it is the bounden duty of the transport authorities, prior to passing any suspension order, to direct the owner/driver of the vehicles to produce their vehicles for inspection," the court said. 

After hearing the contentions, the Court made a reference to a case of Orissa High Court, IRC Natural Resources Private Ltd. Vs. District Magistrate and Collector that dealt with identical situation and had opined that there was no authorized report of the Motor Vehicle Department to conclude the fact of overloading.

In this background, the Court held that, “the respondent-State has failed to produce any material on record before arriving at the conclusion regarding overloading of the subject vehicles. No actual weighing of the vehicles has been conducted and straightaway, it was recorded that the subject vehicles were overloaded. In the considered opinion of this Court, unless and until the allegation of overloading is established by physically weighing the vehicles, the registration of subject vehicles cannot be suspended”.

Disposing of the pleas the court directed the petitioners to produce their vehicles within one month before the respective District Transport Officers who were in-turn directed to examine and inspect the vehicles, make a detailed inventory, and then pass orders as per law.

Title: Kanwar Singh & Ors. v State of Rajasthan & Ors.

Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Raj) 269

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