Motor Vehicles Act Section 42 — Special provision for registration of motor vehicles of diplomatic officers, etc
CHAPTER IV REGISTRATION OF MOTOR VEHICLES
Civil
Summary
Sub-section (1) covers what happens when a registration application is made for a vehicle owned by a diplomatic or consular officer. Even though the usual registration rules under section 41 would normally apply, the registering authority must instead follow special rules made by the Central Government for such vehicles. The authority must give the vehicle a special registration mark as per those rules and issue a certificate confirming the vehicle is registered under this section. As long as the vehicle remains the property of a diplomatic or consular officer, it does not need to be registered again under the general provisions of the Act.
Sub-section (2) deals with what happens if a vehicle registered under this section stops being the property of a diplomatic or consular officer. In that case, the special certificate of registration stops being effective, and the general registration requirements of sections 39 and 40 apply to the vehicle from that point onward.
Sub-section (3) gives the Central Government the power to make rules for registering vehicles belonging to diplomatic and consular officers. These rules can cover the procedure the registering authority must follow, the form of the registration certificate, how the certificate is sent to the vehicle owner, and the special registration marks to be assigned.
Sub-section (4) defines who counts as a diplomatic officer or consular officer for this section. It means any person recognised as such by the Central Government, and if there is any doubt about whether someone is such an officer, the Central Government's decision on the matter is final.
Official Text
(1) Where an application for registration of a motor vehicle is made under sub-section (1) of section 41 by or on behalf of any diplomatic officer or consular officer, then, notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (3) or sub-section (6) of that section, the registering authority shall register the vehicle in such manner and in accordance with such procedure as may be provided by rules made in this behalf by the Central Government under sub-section (3) and shall assign to the vehicle for display thereon a special registration mark in accordance with the provisions contained in those rules and shall issue a certificate (hereafter in this section referred to as the certificate of registration) that the vehicle has been registered under this section; and any vehicle so registered shall not, so long as it remains the property of any diplomatic officer or consular officer, require to be registered otherwise under this Act.
(2) If any vehicle registered under this section ceases to be the property of any diplomatic officer or consular officer, the certificate of registration issued under this section shall also cease to be effective, and the provisions of sections 39 and 40 shall thereupon apply.
(3) The Central Government may make rules for the registration of motor vehicles belonging to diplomatic officers and consular officers regarding the procedure to be followed by the registering authority for registering such vehicles, the form in which the certificates of registration of such vehicles are to be issued, the manner in which such certificates of registration are to be sent to the owners of the vehicles and the special registration marks to be assigned to such vehicles.
(4) For the purposes of this section, “diplomatic officer” or “consular officer” means any person who is recognised as such by the Central Government and if any question arises as to whether a person is or is not such an officer, the decision of the Central Government thereon shall be final. 1[