A guardian can only be held liable under the Motor Vehicles Act if a juvenile has committed an offense, which must be substantiated by evidence.

O R D E R

This Crl.M.C. is filed to quash the proceedings in CC No. 463/2023 on the file of the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court- I, Perinthalmanna arising from Crime No. 575/2023 of Perinthalmanna Police Station. The above case is registered alleging offences punishable under Sec.336 IPC and under Sec. 199A (1), 199A(2), 5 r/w 180 of the Motor Vehicles Act .

2. The prosecution case is that on 12.04.2023 at 7 pm, the petitioner permitted her minor son aged 17 years to drive the bike bearing registration No. KL-71-J-8929 through Perinthalmanna-Pattambi road, thereby causing danger to the public. The contention of the petitioner is that the final report is not maintainable against the petitioner because in order to charge the offences against the guardian of the minor, the offence must have been committed by a juvenile and only thereupon, the charge under Sec. 199A of the Motor Vehicles Act can be imposed upon the guardian of such juvenile. The petitioner relied on the judgment dated 20.06.2023 in Crl.M.C. No. 4779/2023 in which an order passed in Crl.M.C. 7479/2022 is relied. Hence, this Crl.M.C. is filed.

3. Heard the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner and the learned Public Prosecutor.

4. After hearing both sides, I think Annexure A2 final report will not stand in the light of the dictum laid down in Crl.M.C.No.7479/2022 which is followed in Crl.M.C. No. 4779/2023 . It will be better to extract the relevant portion of the judgment in Crl.M.C.No.7479/2022:

“4. The contention put forward by the learned counsel for the petitioner is that none of the offences alleged against him would be attracted against him. The crux of the contention of the learned counsel for the petitioner is that Section 199A of the Motor Vehicles Act requires that an offence must have been committed by a Juvenile and only thereupon the charge under can be imposed upon the guardian of such juvenile. It is pointed out that, in this case, no such offences are charged against the juvenile and in the absence of such prosecution, the proceedings against the petitioner cannot be continued. On the other hand, the learned Public Prosecutor would oppose the same.

5. After considering the relevant aspects, I find some force in the contention put forward by the learned counsel for the petitioner. Section 199A of the Motor Vehicles Act reads as follows:

“199-A. Offences by juveniles.--(1) Where an offence under this Act has been committed by a juvenile, the guardian of such juvenile or the owner of the motor vehicle shall be deemed to be guilty of the contravention and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly:

Provided that nothing in this sub-section shall render such guardian or owner liable to any punishment provided in this Act, if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence.

Explanation.-- For the purposes of this section, the Court shall presume that the use of the motor vehicle by the juvenile was with the consent of the guardian of such juvenile or the owner of the motor vehicle, as the case may be.

(2) In addition to the penalty under sub-section (1), such guardian or owner shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and with a fine of twenty-five thousand rupees.

(3) The provisions of sub-section (1) and sub-section (2) shall not apply to such guardian or owner if the juvenile committing the offence had been granted a learner's licence under section 8 or a driving licence and was operating a motor vehicle which such juvenile was licensed to operate.

(4) Where an offence under this Act has been committed by a juvenile, the registration of the motor vehicle used in the commission of the offence shall be cancelled for a period of twelve months.

(5) Where an offence under this Act has been committed by a juvenile, then, notwithstanding section 4 or section 7, such juvenile shall not be eligib