Supreme Court: Reach Stackers Excluded from Motor Vehicle Act

Home / Top Stories / Supreme Court Judgments Motor Vehicle Act: Supreme Court Says Special Type Vehicles Used Only in Enclosed Premises Excluded X Supreme Court rules Reach Stacker is not a motor vehicle under MV Act. Supreme Court holds Reach Stackers used only in restricted premises fall outside Section 2(28) of the MV Act, while custom-bonded ICDs are not ‘public places’ under Section 2(34). The Supreme Court has held that for a machine to qualify as a motor vehicle under Section 2(28) of the Motor Vehicles Act (MV Act), it must be mechanically propelled and adapted for use upon roads. However, vehicles of a special type adapted for use only in a factory or any other enclosed premises are expressly excluded from the definition, even if they possess the technical characteristics of motor vehicles. A Bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and N Kotiswar Singh held that a Reach Stacker is a special type of vehicle adapted for use only in enclosed premises and is therefore excluded from the definition of a motor vehicle under Section 2(28) of the Motor Vehicle Act . Why is a Reach Stacker not a ‘motor vehicle’ under the MV Act? Court held that the Reach Stacker, though mechanically propelled and fitted with tyres and a chassis, is a vehicle dedicated to a particular kind of work carried out within duly notified and restricted areas. It therefore falls within the exclusion contained in the definition of a ‘motor vehicle’ under Section 2(28) of the Act. Court noted that merely because a vehicle has rubber tyres and is mounted on a chassis, it cannot be concluded that it is suitable for use on public roads. “To say that only because a vehicle has rubber tyres and is on chassis that it is suitable for public roads, would be a rather simplistic view of the whole situation,” the Bench said. Court further noted that the concerned authority had prescribed permissible weights, and if a particular vehicle does not comply with those requirements, its suitability for use on roads is affected. Court also examined the nature and use of Reach Stackers. It noted that they are used in connection with containers, ports and terminals, steel and aluminium and other industries where heavy items have to be lifted and transported from one area to another. “Because its application is for a limited set of tasks and to a limited kind of industries, in our considered view, the utility test also is decided in favour of the appellants,” the Bench said. Court therefore held that since the Reach Stacker is a vehicle dedicated to a particular kind of work carried out within duly notified areas, it falls within the second half of the definition of ‘motor vehicle’, which provides for its exclusion. The Bench clarified that the exclusion does not require the vehicle to lack the characteristics of a motor vehicle. Instead, it recognises that even though certain vehicles may possess such characteristics, they cannot be treated as motor vehicles for the purposes of the Act when they are of a special type and adapted for use only within enclosed premises. Is an Inland Container Depot a ‘public place’ under the MV Act? The Supreme Court also held that an Inland Container Depot (ICD) is not a ‘public place’ within the meaning of Section 2(34) of the MV Act. Court explained that a ‘public place’ refers to a thoroughfare or a location to which the public has a right of access. Areas where entry and exit are restricted and access is limited to authorised persons would therefore not qualify as public places. “Areas restricted by ingress/egress controls, such as a custom-bonded Inland Container Depot, where access is granted only to authorized persons, do not constitute a public place,” Court said. The Bench noted that the ICD in question is a custom-bonded area within the meaning of Section 7 of the Indian Customs Act , 1962, where goods imported and exported are unloaded and loaded. It therefore held that only persons duly authorised by the competent authority would have access

Lawyers should note that the Supreme Court's ruling clarifies that vehicles adapted for use only in enclosed premises, such as Reach Stackers, are excluded from the Motor Vehicles Act, even if they possess technical characteristics of motor vehicles. This may impact compliance with MV Act regulations and filing requirements for companies using such vehicles.

Source: Original reporting via LawBeat