Mumbai, October 1, 2026: The Maharashtra Motor Vehicle Department has issued show-cause notices to 335 RTO officials, including Motor Vehicle Inspectors (MVIs), Assistant Regional Transport Officers (ARTOs), Deputy RTOs and RTOs, following a probe into alleged irregularities in the issuance of vehicle fitness certificates.
The notices were issued last month based on a report submitted by a state-level inquiry committee on September 3. The committee examined fitness certificates issued between January 1, 2024, and March 5, 2026, where vehicles registered in Maharashtra had undergone fitness inspections in other states.
Probe Flags Five Categories Of Irregularities
The inquiry, based on data obtained from the National Informatics Centre (NIC), Pune, identified five categories of alleged irregularities. These included issuing Form 38 more than 15 days after Form 38A, issuing certificates from an RTO other than the one where the vehicle was registered, and granting fitness certificates to vehicles that did not have mandatory Vehicle Location Tracking Devices (VLTDs) or Speed Limiting Devices (SLDs).
Officials said several cases involved more than one irregularity. The notices, however, are part of the departmental process and do not by themselves establish individual wrongdoing.
Rules Govern Out-Of-State Inspections
Under Rule 62 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, when a vehicle undergoes a fitness inspection outside its state of registration, the inspection report is issued in Form 38A and sent to the registering authority. The authority is required to issue Form 38 within 15 days if the vehicle meets the prescribed requirements.
A senior Transport Department official said the facility was intended to help commercial vehicle owners but was allegedly misused in several cases. An MVI, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the authority to process such cases was generally with ARTOs and senior officers, though some RTOs had delegated the powers to MVIs.
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Form 38A Provision Subsequently Removed
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways subsequently removed Form 38A from the Central Motor Vehicles Rules through a notification issued in May 2026.
Officials said the notices were issued even to officers who had processed a single such case, resulting in a large number of MVI-rank and senior officials being covered by the departmental action.
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