**Executive Summary**
This document is an answer provided by the Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Shri Nitin Jairam Gadkari, to Unstarred Question No. 770 in Lok Sabha on December 4th, 2025. The question concerned unclaimed vehicles on public roads, data collection, legal provisions for removal, and proposals for stricter measures. The Minister details existing legal provisions and clarifies that no new proposals are under consideration.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Legal Provisions:**
* Section 127 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, Sections 25-27 of the Police Act, 1861, and Sections 497, 498, 503 and 504 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 provide the legal framework for handling abandoned or impounded vehicles.
* These provisions empower State/UT enforcement authorities to remove, manage, sell, or dispose of such vehicles following due process.
* **State/UT Authority and Guidance:**
* The removal and disposal of such vehicles primarily falls under the domain of State/UT Police authorities.
* States/UTs have been advised to identify such vehicles and act in accordance with applicable legal provisions.
* **Vehicle Scrapping Facilities:**
* Rules 8(viii) and 10(vi) of the Motor Vehicles (Registration and Functions of Vehicle Scrapping Facility) Rules, 2021, allow enforcement agencies to offer auctioned, impounded, or abandoned vehicles for scrapping through Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities (RVSFs).
* **New Proposals:**
* No proposal is under consideration to introduce stricter timelines, penalties, or centralized mechanisms for clearance of abandoned vehicles.
**Impact Analysis**
**Impact:** State and UT police authorities are responsible for identifying and acting on abandoned vehicles according to existing laws. They can auction impounded vehicles for scrapping.
**Action Required:** Need to use the legal provisions, advise authorities, identify, and ensure enforcement.
**Impact:** As the enforcement agencies, they can offer the auctioned, impounded, or abandoned vehicles for scrapping through Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities (RVSFs).
**Action Required:** Agencies to act under the Motor Vehicle (Registration and Functions of Vehicle Scrapping Facility) Rules 2021 to remove or dispose the vehicles.
Key Entities Referenced
Motor Vehicles Act, 1988: Provides legal provisions for handling abandoned or impounded vehicles, specifically Section 127.
Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023: Empowers State/UT enforcement authorities to remove, manage, sell, or otherwise dispose of abandoned vehicles.
Motor Vehicles (Registration and Functions of Vehicle Scrapping Facility) Rules, 2021: Permits enforcement agencies to offer auctioned, impounded, or abandoned vehicles for scrapping through Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities (RVSFs).
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways: The central ministry responsible for the matter of unclaimed vehicles on public roads.
Police Act, 1861: Provides legal provisions for handling abandoned or impounded vehicles, specifically Sections 25-27.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 770
ANSWERED ON 04th DECEMBER, 2025
UNCLAIMED VEHICLES ON PUBLIC ROADS
770. SMT. SHAMBHAVI:
SHRI ATUL GARG:
DR. LATA WANKHEDE:
SHRI RAJESH VERMA:
Will the Minister of ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
सड़क परिवहन औि िाजमार्ग मंत्री
be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government has taken note of the large number of
abandoned, unclaimed or scrapped vehicles lying unattended on
public roads, roadside spaces, and outside shops/junkyards across
the country, thereby causing traffic congestion, encroachment,
pollution and safety hazards and if so, the details thereof;
(b) whether the Government has collected any data, in coordination
with State Governments and local bodies on the estimated number
of such vehicles lying unused for more than one year across major
cities and towns and if so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise;
(c) the existing legal or administrative provisions for removal,
auction or recycling of such vehicles and the extent to which they
have been implemented by States/UTs; and(d) whether the Government proposes to introduce stricter
timelines, penalties or centralised mechanisms for clearance of
abandoned vehicles from public spaces and if so, the details
thereof?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
(SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI)
(a) to (c) The legal provisions for handling abandoned or
impounded vehicles have been provided in Section 127 of the
Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, Sections 25-27 of the Police Act, 1861
and Sections 497, 498, 503 and 504 of the Bharatiya Nagarik
Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, which empower State/UT's
enforcement authorities to remove, manage, sale or otherwise
dispose of such vehicles following due process.
Government has highlighted the matter with various State Police
Authorities from time to time.
The removal and disposal of such vehicles is primarily within
the domain of States/UTs Police authorities, as the vehicles are
seized or held as case property under the provisions of the
Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), the Police Act & the
Motor Vehicles Act. States/UTs have been advised to identify such
vehicles and take action in accordance with applicable legal
provisions.
Further, Rule 8(viii) and Rule 10(vi) of the Motor Vehicles
(Registration and Functions of Vehicle Scrapping Facility) Rules,
2021 permit enforcement agencies to offer the auctioned,
impounded or abandoned vehicles for scrapping through
Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities (RVSFs) which ensures a
more scientific disposal of such vehicles.
(d) No such proposal is under consideration.
*****