Lokayukta closes complaint on vintage vehicle registration irregularities

Nagpur: The Maharashtra Lokayukta has closed a complaint alleging irregularities in the re-registration of vintage vehicles after the state transport department confirmed that five vehicle owners had their original registration numbers restored in accordance with the central govt rules.

The complaint was filed by Nagpur-based vintage car enthusiast Anjan Chatterjee, who had accused the state transport commissioner and regional transport offices (RTOs) in Nagpur and Pune of violating the amended Central Motor Vehicles Rules (CMVR) during the re-registration of vehicles over 50 years old. Chatterjee claimed that several vintage vehicles were wrongly issued new registration numbers under the MH VA AA ***, thereby erasing their historically significant original registrations.

He highlighted five cases involving vehicles first registered between 1944 and 1968. According to Rule 81(B)(3) of the CMVR—amended in July 2021 and enforced from April 1, 2022—such vintage vehicles must retain their original number plates. Chatterjee also alleged that the authorities had issued registration certificates valid for only five years, even though Rule 81(C) prescribes a 10-year validity.

However, the transport department's compliance report, submitted on December 16, 2024, clarified that the five vehicles in question had been re-registered correctly as per the Union ministry's 2021 notification. The original numbers were reinstated, and the five-year validity period was described as a standard administrative procedure.

Chatterjee had also urged the Lokayukta to issue general directions for state-wide compliance with the vintage vehicle rules. However, Justice VM Kanade declined the request, stating that such directions are warranted only in cases of ongoing violations—which, in this case, had already been addressed.

With that, the matter was formally closed, allowing the five classic vehicles—and their historically significant number plates—to remain on the road, legally and authentically.