Mumbai, Oct 1 (PTI) The Maharashtra Motor Vehicle Department has issued show-cause notices to more than 300 officials of the Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) across the state over alleged irregularities in issuing fitness certificates to vehicles based on the inspections conducted in other states, officials said.
The officials who received the notices include Motor Vehicle Inspectors (MVIs), Assistant Regional Transport Officers (ARTOs) and Deputy RTOs and RTOs posted across Maharashtra, they said.
Earlier this year, the state government constituted a probe committee to inquire into alleged irregularities in the renewal of vehicular fitness certificates done through Form 38, based on inspection reports issued in Form 38A by transport authorities in other states between January 1, 2024 and March 5, 2026.
Under Rule 62 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, when the prescribed fitness tests are conducted by an inspecting officer or authorised testing station in a state or Union Territory other than the one where the vehicle is registered, the inspection report must be uploaded in Form 38A and sent to the registering authority.
The registering authority is then required to issue the fitness certificate in Form 38 within 15 days of the date of the inspection report, provided the vehicle complies with the prescribed requirements.
The inquiry committee was constituted after the Transport Commissioner’s office reported instances of alleged irregularities in the issuance of fitness certificates. It obtained data from the National Informatics Centre (NIC), Pune, and submitted its report to the administration on September 3, 2026.
A senior official in the Transport Commissioner’s office told PTI that based on the probe committee’s report, the department issued show-cause notices to 335 officials of the MVI rank and above posted at various RTO offices across the state last month.
The notices seek explanations from these officials over irregularities identified by the inquiry committee. The issuance of a show-cause notice is part of the departmental process and does not, by itself, establish individual wrongdoing.
Another senior official in the Transport Commissioner’s office said the inquiry identified five categories of alleged irregularities.
In some cases, Form 38 was issued more than 15 days after Form 38A was issued by authorities in other states. In other cases, RTO offices, other than the ones where the vehicles were registered, issued Form 38 after Form 38A was given by authorities in other states, he said.
According to the official, the committee also found cases in which goods vehicles holding national permits and other passenger vehicles manufactured after January 1, 2019 were issued Form 38 despite lacking Vehicle Location Tracking Devices (VLTDs).
It also found instances where transport vehicles were issued Form 38 despite lacking Speed Limiting Devices (SLDs), he said, adding that in many cases, more than one of these five irregularities occurred.
Under Rule 118 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, specified transport vehicles manufactured on or after October 1, 2015 are required to be equipped with speed governors or speed-limiting devices, subject to specified exemptions.
The official further said the facility allowing fitness inspections outside the state of registration had been misused in many cases. Hence the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH) subsequently omitted Form 38A from the Central Motor Vehicles Rules through a notification published in May 2026.
An MVI, who did not wish to be named, said that, generally, the authority to issue Form 38 and process cases involving Form 38A for commercial vehicles undergoing fitness renewal outside their state of registration was vested with ARTOs and officers of higher rank.
However, at some RTO offices, such powers were also delegated to MVIs, the official said.
According to the RTO officials, show-cause notices were issued also to those officers who processed even a single form. As a result, a significant number of MVI-rank and senior officers have received notices, triggering concern within the department.
A senior Deputy RTO officer said the provision allowing commercial vehicle owners to conduct fitness testing at an RTO or authorised testing facility outside the vehicle’s state of registration was intended as a convenience for vehicle owners.
The officer, who did not wish to be identified, alleged that the facility was grossly misused. Even in many cases, Form 38A was arranged from other states even without taking the vehicles outside Maharashtra. PTI KK NP
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