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Section138
The Motor Vehicles Act

Power of State Government to make rules

In force Act 59 of 1988 As on 18 Oct 2026

Read from the scanned gazette. India Code publishes no text for this Act, so the text below was read from the Government's own scan by machine and split into sections by its numbering. It has not been checked against the page word by word. Where it matters, read the scan. Read the scan.

Act 59 of 1988 Instruments 1

This is a second copy of a Central Act. India Code files it on Haryana's shelf as well as under Parliament, and the text is the same enactment. Read it at The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, which is the record this site keeps current.

Read from the scanned gazette. India Code publishes no text for this Act, so this text was read from the Government's own scan by machine and split into sections by its numbering. It has not been checked against the page word by word. Where it matters, read the scan. Read the scan.

Section 138 of the Motor Vehicles Act deals with power of State Government to make rules. The State Government may make rules for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this Chapter other than the matters specified in section 137.

(1) The State Government may make rules for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this Chapter other than the matters specified in section 137.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for- (a) the removal and the safe custody of vehicles including their loads which have broken down or which have been left standing or have been abandoned on roads; 1. Ins. by Act 54 of 1994, s. 41 (w.e.f. 14-11-1994). 2. Subs. by s. 42, ibid., for "without unnecessary delay" (w.e.f. 14-11-1994).

(b) the installation and use of weighing devices;

(c) the maintenance and management of wayside amenities complexes;

(d) the exemption from all or any of the provisions of this Chapter of fire brigade vehicles, ambulances and other special classes or descriptions of vehicle, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed;

(e) the maintenance and management of parking places and stands and the fees, if any, which may be charged for their use;

(f) prohibiting the driving downhill of a motor vehicle with the gear disengaged either generally or in a specified place;

(g) prohibiting the taking hold of or mounting of a motor vehicle in motion;

(h) prohibiting the use of foot-paths or pavements by motor vehicles;

(i) generally, the prevention of danger, injury or annoyance to the public or any person, or of danger or injury to property or of abstruction to traffic; and (j) any other matter which is to be, or may be, prescribed. CHAPTER IX e MOTOR VEHICLES TEMPORARILY LEAVING OR VISITING INDIA

Section 138, The Motor Vehicles Act (Act 59 of 1988).

Cross-references

Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.

This section refers to

  1. s. 137 Power of Central Government to make rules

Made under this section, and citing it

1 instrument states that it was made under this provision — the power to make it comes from here, so a change to any of them changes what this section requires in practice. Newest first.

All subordinate legislation

Questions about Section 138

What does Section 138 of the Motor Vehicles Act deal with?

Section 138 of the Motor Vehicles Act is headed "Power of State Government to make rules". The State Government may make rules for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this Chapter other than the matters specified in section 137.

How do I find court cases under Section 138 of the Motor Vehicles Act?

In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Motor Vehicles Act 138, section 138 Motor Vehicles Act, section 138 of the Motor Vehicles Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome.

What should I read with Section 138 of the Motor Vehicles Act, and has it changed?

Its own text turns on section 137 (Power of Central Government to make rules), so none of them can safely be read on its own. The rules and notifications made under it are where it actually bites, and there is one: most recently Haryana Road Safety Fund Rules, 2018 (2018).

When was the Motor Vehicles Act enacted?

Motor Vehicles Act was enacted in 1988 as Act 59 of 1988. India Code records no commencement date for it. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.

Other sections of this Act

Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Read from the Government's own scanned gazette with Azure Document Intelligence, then split into sections by their numbering. India Code publishes no text for this Act. The scan itself is mirrored into our own storage and served at /scan/f09db275-80d6-4bd5-924c-03ac08727bdc.pdf, so the reading here can be checked against the page it came from without depending on India Code's own copy staying where it is (it was at https://indiacode.gov.in/server/api/core/bitstreams/e36db003-a500-4cf2-aaa3-05b529659cd2/content). This page is not a substitute for legal advice.