Your modified vehicle is not eligible for registration rules Supreme Court

New Delhi, Jan 10: In an interesting judgment, the Supreme Court has said that a modified vehicle will not be eligible for registration. The vehicle must meet the original specification by the manufacturer to be eligible for registration, a Bench comprising Justice Arun Mishra and Vineet Saran said.

The order was passed while overturning a verdict of the Kerala High Court. The SC said that minor alterations such as change of colour or minor fitments as permitted under the Motor Vehicle Act would be eligible for registration. The court however made it clear that structural changes to the body or chassis of the vehicle would disqualify it from registration.

The Bench said that only the prototype of the vehicle manufactured is tested for road-worthiness and safety features and hence no vehicle which does not match the original specifications of the manufacturer could be permitted to be registered.

In case one has to replace the engine with a new one of the same make and capacity, one has to take prior permission from the registering authority or face the danger of getting registration cancelled.

Dealing with CNG kits, the Bench said that the same has been permitted by the central government under the law and hence it would not count as a structural change. The court said that the objet and the clear intent of the amended Section 52 is that the vehicle cannot be so altered that the particulars contained in the certificate of registration are at variance with those originally specified by the manufacturer. The emphasis of Section 52(1) is not to cary the original specifications by the manufacturer, the Supreme Court also observed.