Kerala MVD fines dealer Rs. 1 lakh for disconnecting odometer of unregistered car

Kerala Motor Vehicle Department has been in the news for their strict actions against motorists. There have been several reports of Motor Vehicle Department officers have got hold on vehicles that were driven on the roads with illegal modifications. There are several videos and news reports available online where MVD officials have fined motorists for performing stunts on public road as well. Now, we have another report coming from Kerala where MVD fines a car dealer Rs 1 lakh for disconnecting odometer cable of an unregistered car.

The news report has been shared by Mathrubhumi News on their YouTube channel. As per the report, an unregistered vehicle caught Motor Vehicle Department’s eye while they were on their regular duty. They stopped the vehicle and came to know that the vehicle belonged to a dealership and it was being driven from Kozhikode to Thiruvananthapuram to another dealership.

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The Maruti Ertiga which was stopped by the MVD officials did not have TCR or trade certificate registration. Trade certificate registration is required to transfer a vehicle from one dealership to another. The driver was taking the vehicle to Thiruvananthapuram and the vehicle was stopped by officers at Kayamkulam in Alappuzha district. After doing a bit more investigation, MVD realised that the odometer cable of the Maruti Ertiga was not connected.

After the officials found out that the Ertiga was being driven on the road illegally, MVD fined Rs 1 lakh to the dealerships under Section 182A. This section in the Motor Vehicle Acts is for Punishment for offences relating to construction maintenance sale and alteration of motor vehicles and components. The vehicle was then taken in custody and was later released.

The distance between Kozhikode to Thiruvananthapuram by road is over 370 kms. Disconnecting the speedometer cables is a common practice by dealers in many parts of the country. They do this in order to make sure that the vehicle has less number of kilometers when it is being delivered to the customer.  In this case, It is not known whether the car was being taken to the dealership for delivery purposes or not. If the vehicle was being driven from Kozhikode to Trivandrum from delivery, then it is going to be a hard task for a person to figure out how many kms has the car actually covered.

Disconnecting the odometer cable is a serious offence. First of all by disconnecting the odometer cable, the driver cannot judge the speed at which he or she is driving. This may even lead to accidents. In many modern cars, disconnecting the odometer also affects the working of power steering which is again dangerous.

In another incident, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed a penalty of Rs 200 crore on Maruti Suzuki for forcing its dealers to limit the discount that they offer to their customers. Maruti Suzuki responded to this order by saying that they are examining the order and will take appropriate actions under law. Maruti Suzuki is likely to challenge the penalty imposed by CCI at the courtroom.

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