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Section205
The Motor Vehicles Act

Presumption of unfitness to drive

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

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 205 of the Motor Vehicles Act deals with presumption of unfitness to drive. In any proceeding for an offence punishable under section 185 if it is proved that the accused, when requested by a police officer at any time so to do, had refused, omitted or failed to consent to the taking of or providing a specimen of his breath for a breath test or a specimen of his blood for a

In any proceeding for an offence punishable under section 185 if it is proved that the accused, when requested by a police officer at any time so to do, had refused, omitted or failed to consent to the taking of or providing a specimen of his breath for a breath test or a specimen of his blood for a laboratory test, his refusal, omission or failure may, unless reasonable cause therefor is shown, be presumed to be a circumstance supporting any evidence given on behalf of the prosecution, or rebutting any evidence given on behalf of the defence, with respect to his condition at that time.

Section 205, 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. 185 Driving by a drunken person or by a person under the influence of drugs

Questions about Section 205

What does Section 205 of the Motor Vehicles Act deal with?

Section 205 of the Motor Vehicles Act is headed "Presumption of unfitness to drive". In any proceeding for an offence punishable under section 185 if it is proved that the accused, when requested by a police officer at any time so to do, had refused, omitted or failed to consent to the taking of or providing a specimen of his breath for a breath test or a specimen of his blood for a

How do I find court cases under Section 205 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 205, section 205 Motor Vehicles Act, section 205 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 205 of the Motor Vehicles Act, and has it changed?

Its own text turns on section 185 (Driving by a drunken person or by a person under the influence of drugs), so none of them can safely be read on its own.

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.