Mumbai Transport Department Officials Clarify Vehicle Number Plate Rules

Mumbai: Clarifying on the rules around vehicle number plates, a Maharashtra State Transport Department official has said that english number plates on both the rear and front sides of every vehicle are mandatory, while regional number plates can be used additionally according to the choice of vehicle owners.

Complaint by Panvel resident

Earlier, Ashish Karle, a resident of Panvel, lodged a complaint with the Mumbai traffic police department, questioning why vehicle owners were fined for using number plates in Marathi.

In response to Ashish Karle, Sandip Badgujar, Inspector of the Multimedia Cell of the Mumbai traffic police, stated on August 28 that actions are being taken against those whose number plates are found to violate the norms as per the Central Motor Vehicles (CMV) Act.

According to Sanjay Sasane, a retired officer of the Maharashtra State Transport Department, "Writing Marathi numbers is not an offense, but the absence of an English number plate, as per the rules, constitutes an offense. Marathi or regional language number plates cannot replace the number plates prescribed by the Central Motor Vehicles Rules. Furthermore, the high-security number plate issued at the time of registration (since 2017) must not be removed or replaced with another."

Central Motor Vehicle (CMV) Act 1989

Another retired transport department official added that across India, vehicles in different states may display letters and numerals in their state language, but they must also display a registration number plate in English letters and Arabic numerals in accordance with the Central Motor Vehicle Rules 1989, adding that in Maharashtra, vehicle owners can additionally use Marathi number plates.

"The number plates should be of an appropriate size stipulated for each category of vehicle, and the registration letters and numbers should be clearly visible to the naked eye," he said. "Rules 50 and 51 of the CMV Act 1989 do not permit fancy lettering," he added.