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Synopsis

The High Court of Telangana has recently ruled that driving a vehicle without a number plate does not constitute the offence of cheating under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The court made the observation while quashing a cheating case against a two-wheeler driver, driving a vehicle without a number plate.

The court, presided over by Justice K. Sujana, noted that the allegation of driving without a number plate does not involve elements of cheating or dishonestly inducing delivery of property, essential to make out an offence under Section 420 of IPC. “It appears that the only allegation against the petitioner is that he drove the vehicle without number plate, as such, the vehicle was seized, which does not come under the purview of Section 420 of IPC,” the court stated.

The case arose when the petitioner, a two-wheeler driver, was stopped during a vehicle check conducted by the police at Gulzar House X Road in Hyderabad. The police found that the petitioner and two others were driving vehicles without number plates. Upon being questioned, the drivers allegedly gave hasty responses, prompting the police to seize their vehicles and register a case under Section 420 IPC (cheating) and Section 80(a) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. The complaint was filed by Sub-Inspector of Police, Charminar Police Station, who claimed the drivers were evading proper registration procedures.

Advocate Baglekar Akash Kumar, representing the petitioner, sought quashing of the case, arguing that there was no evidence of dishonest inducement resulting in the delivery of property or alteration of valuable property in the present case. Regarding Section 80(a) of the Motor Vehicles Act, the counsel argued that this section pertains only to the procedure for displaying registration numbers and does not criminalise driving without a number plate. Therefore, no offence had been committed under the Motor Vehicles Act either.

Contrarily, the Additional Public Prosecutor D. Arun Kumar, contended that the matter required a trial and opposed the quashing of the proceedings, arguing that the charges warranted judicial scrutiny.

The court, after reviewing the facts and arguments, held that the sole allegation against the petitioner was driving a vehicle without a number plate which does not fall under the purview of Section 420 IPC, as it requires an act of cheating or dishonest inducement. The court also highlighted that Section 80(a) of the Motor Vehicles Act, which deals with vehicle registration procedures and does not penalise the act of driving without a number plate. The appropriate recourse, as suggested by the court, should have been for the police to impose a fine as per relevant rules or to register a case under applicable provisions of the law.

Given the lack of merit in the charges, the court quashed the proceedings against the petitioner and dismissed the case, stating that “the averments in the complaint does not constitute the offence as alleged against the petitioner. Hence, the proceedings against the petitioner are liable to be quashed.”

 

Cause Title: Vasundhara Chary Vasunder Chary Ravulakola v State of Telangana [CRLP No.9953 of 2024]