Section 55:
Cancellation of registration.
(1) If a motor vehicle has been destroyed or has been rendered
permanently incapable of use, the owner shall, within fourteen days or as soon as may be, report the fact
to the registering authority within whose jurisdiction he has the residence or place of business where the
vehicle is normally kept, as the case may be, and shall forward to that authority the certificate of
registration of the vehicle.
(2) The registering authority shall, if it is the original registering authority, cancel the registration and
the certificate of registration, or, if it is not, shall forward the report and the certificate of registration to
the original registering authority and that authority shall cancel the registration.
(3) Any registering authority may order the examination of a motor vehicle within its jurisdiction by
such authority as the State Government may by order appoint and, if, upon such examination and after
giving the owner an opportunity to make any representation he may wish to make (by sending to the
owner a notice by registered post acknowledgement due at his address entered in the certificate of
registration), it is satisfied that the vehicle is in such a condition that it is incapable of being used or its
use in a public place would constitute a danger to the public and that it is beyond reasonable repair, may
cancel the registration.
(4) If a registering authority is satisfied that a motor vehicle has been permanently removed out of
India, the registering authority shall cancel the registration.
(5) If a registering authority is satisfied that the registration of a motor vehicle has been obtained on
the basis of documents which were, or by representation of facts which was, false in any material particular, or the engine number or the chassis number embossed thereon are different from such number
entered in the certificate of registration, the registering authority shall after giving the owner an
opportunity to make such representation as he may wish to make (by sending to the owner a notice by
registered post acknowledgement due at his address entered in the certificate of registration), and for
reasons to be recorded in writing cancel the registration.
1[(5A) If any registering authority or other prescribed authority has reason to believe that any motor
vehicle within its jurisdiction has been used in the commission of an offence punishable under section
199A, the authority may, after giving the owner an opportunity of making a representation in writing,
cancel the certificate of registration of the vehicle for a period of one year:
Provided that the owner of the motor vehicle may apply for fresh registration in accordance with the
provisions of section 40 and section 41.]
(6) A registering authority cancelling the registration of a motor vehicle under section 54 or under this
section shall communicate such fact in writing to the owner of the vehicle, and the owner of the vehicle
shall forthwith surrender to that authority the certificate of registration of the vehicle.
(7) A registering authority making an order of cancellation under section 54 or under this section
shall, if it is the original registering authority, cancel the certificate of registration and the entry relating to
the vehicle in its records, and, if it is not the original registering authority, forward the certificate of
registration to that authority, and that authority shall cancel the certificate of registration and the entry
relating to the motor vehicle in its records.
(8) The expression "original registering authority" in this section and in sections 41, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53
and 54 means the registering authority in whose records the registration of the vehicle is recorded.
(9) In this section, "certificate of registration" includes a certificate of registration renewed under the
provisions of this Act.
Notes:
1. Ins. by Act 32 of 2019, s. 22 (w.e.f. 1-9-2019).