UP Govt Assures Supreme Court of Amendments to Law on Abating MV Act Trials

Responding to the Supreme Court's concern over the Uttar Pradesh Criminal Law (Composition of Offences and Abatement of Trials) (Amendment) Act, 2023, the State of Uttar Pradesh has submitted its willingness to amend the law.

In November last year, Supreme Court had said the law which allows trials for offences under the Motor Vehicles Act, including non-compoundable ones, pending as of December 31, 2021, to be abated would have a “drastic" impact.

State of Uttar Pradesh, in response filed an affidavit dated 19.01.2026 duly affirmed by the Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Uttar Pradesh (Head of Transport Department) stating that in the meeting convened on 09.01.2026, presided over by the Chief Secretary of the Government of Uttar Pradesh, there were deliberations with respect to amendments in the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

Senior Advocate Gaurav Agrawal, the Amicus told court that the proposed amendment perhaps may not serve the purpose and there is no other option but to declare the Uttar Pradesh Criminal Law (Composition of Offences and Abatement of Trials) (Amendment) Act, 2023 (“UP Act No. 4 of 2023”) as ultra vires being repugnant to the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 since the said UP Act No.4 of 2023 was neither reserved for the consideration of the President of India nor received his assent as per the provisions of Article 254(2) of the Constitution of India.

Advocate Ruchira Goel, appearing for the State of Uttar Pradesh told court that the amendment as proposed would serve the purpose.

A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Vishwanathan said that State of Uttar Pradesh should proceed further to undertake the necessary amendment in accordance with law. 

Notably, Court had earlier observed that abating all proceedings “in one shot” would remove the deterrent effect of these offences. "In a country like India, traffic is a big problem. Regulation of traffic is a big challenge in major cities including towns. Citizens are not so disciplined insofar as abiding by the traffic rules and regulations is concerned. In such circumstances, there has to be some deterrence so that a check remains on people indulging in offences relating to the Motor Vehicles Act, more particularly the youngsters,” it had said.

The judges emphasised that they were particularly worried about the loss of deterrence due to the amendment. They noted that even offences that appear minor on the surface can be serious, for instance, Section 185 of the MV Act, which makes drunk driving a non-compoundable offence. "If it is a non-compoundable offence, we wonder how could the State bring around an amendment and in one go tell the court concerned that the proceedings have stood abated. This means that the person who was booked for the offence of driving in a drunken condition or under intoxication goes scot-free. It is possible that such case may be pending past 5 years, however, should that by itself justify abatement of the proceedings?'' the bench had asked.

Court has then asked the Secretaries of the Legal Department and Transport Department of Uttar Pradesh to file affidavits explaining and justifying the section-wise abatement of proceedings. “If we may not sound very harsh, this Amendment Act should not be in the form of a step to eradicate arrears of pending cases in different courts of the State of U.P.,” the bench had remarked. The state government was given six weeks to file the affidavits in response to a plea challenging the amendment as ultra vires for being repugnant to the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

Case Title: S Rajaseekaran Vs Union of India & Ors

Order Date: January 22, 2026 

Bench: Justices J B Pardiwala and K V Vishwanathan