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Section212
The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988

Publication, commencement and laying of rules and notifications

In force From 01 Jul 1989 Act 59 of 1988 As on 15 Oct 2026

Act 59 of 1988 Ministry Road Transport and Highways Enacted 14 Oct 1988 In force 01 Jul 1989 Instruments 40

Section 212 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 deals with publication, commencement and laying of rules and notifications. The power to make rules under this Act is subject to the condition of the rules being made after previous publication. The Act came into force on 01 Jul 1989.

(1) The power to make rules under this Act is subject to the condition of the rules being made after previous publication.

(2) All rules made under this Act shall be published in the Official Gazette, and shall unless some later date is appointed, come into force on the date of such publication.

(3) Every rule made by any State Government shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made before the State Legislature.

(4) Every rule made by the Central Government under this Act, every scheme made by the Central Government under sub-section (1) of section 75 and sub-section (1) of section 163 and every notification issued by the Central Government under sub-section (4) of section 41, sub-section (1) of section 58, sub-section (1) of section 59, the proviso to sub-section (1) of section 112, 1[section 118] 2[sub-section (4) of section 163A] 3[section 164, section 177A] and sub-section (4) of section 213 shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament while it is in session for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule, scheme or notification or both Houses agree that the rule or scheme should not be made or the notification should not be issued, the rule, scheme or notification shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule, scheme or notification.

1[(5) Every notification issued by the State Government under section 210A shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of the State Legislature where it consists of two Houses, or where such Legislature consists of one House, before that House, while it is in session for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, the House agrees or both Houses agree, as the case may be, in making any modification in the notification or the House agrees or both Houses agree, as the case may be, that the notification should not be issued, the notification shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that notification.]

Section 212, The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (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. 41 Registration, how to be made
  2. s. 58 Special provisions in regard to transport vehicles
  3. s. 59 Power to fix the age limit of motor vehicle
  4. s. 75 Scheme for renting of motor cabs
  5. s. 112 Limits of speed
  6. s. 118 Driving regulations
  7. s. 163 Refund in certain cases of compensation paid under section 161
  8. s. 164 Payment of compensation in case of death or grevious hurt, etc
  9. s. 177A Penalty for contravention of regulations under section 118
  10. s. 210A Power of State Government to increase penalties
  11. s. 213 Appointment of motor vehicles officers

Related judgements & precedents

These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.

  1. Jantia Hill Truck Owners Association vs S. A. Coal Dealer & Truck Owner Assn

    Supreme Court of India 10 Jul 2009 Binding (SC) Reportable

    Court's Decision & Legal Precedent

    Where a statute confers powers on an authority to do certain acts or exercise power in respect of certain matters subject to rules, the exercise of power conferred by the statute does not depend on the existence of rules unless the statute expressly provides for the same. The expression 'subject to the rules' only means 'in accordance with the rules, if any'. If rules are framed, the powers so conferred could be exercised in accordance with these rules. But if no rules are framed, there is no void and the authority is not precluded from exercising the power conferred by the statute. A statute that is workable even without framing of Rules must be given effect to, as the law does not envisage a vacuum. The State Government is empowered to issue executive orders for matters required to be prescribed by Rules if the statute is workable without them, subject to the condition that such orders do not infringe upon the rights of citizens.

    On this section: Prescribes procedure for making rules including publication in Official Gazette and laying before State Legislature

    Read the full order on eCourts India

The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.

Made under this section, and citing it

40 instruments state 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 212

What have the courts held on Section 212 of the Motor Vehicles Act?

Jantia Hill Truck Owners Association vs S. A. Coal Dealer & Truck Owner Assn (10 Jul 2009) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Prescribes procedure for making rules including publication in Official Gazette and laying before State Legislature.

How do I find court cases under Section 212 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: MV Act 212, section 212 MV Act, section 212 of the Motor Vehicles Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Jantia Hill Truck Owners Association vs S. A. Coal Dealer & Truck Owner Assn (10 Jul 2009).

What should I read with Section 212 of the Motor Vehicles Act, and has it changed?

Its own text turns on section 41 (Registration, how to be made), section 58 (Special provisions in regard to transport vehicles), section 59 (Power to fix the age limit of motor vehicle), section 75 (Scheme for renting of motor cabs), and on 7 further provisions, 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 are 40: most recently Draft GSR 127(E) 15 Feb 2022 VTS dangerous goods (2022), then Draft GSR 234(E) 31st March 2022 TREM extension 6 month (2022), and 38 more.

When did Section 212 of the Motor Vehicles Act come into force?

Section 212 of the Motor Vehicles Act, cited as MV Act 212, came into force on 01 Jul 1989, having been enacted on 14 Oct 1988. 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. Text as in force on 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.