Nothing useful can be done until you know which order is holding the licence, because there are four distinct sources and each has its own remedy. Get a copy of the order and the endorsement first. The provision on the order determines the remedy and filing period.
The four sources
- An order of the licensing authority under Section 19. The authority may, after giving the holder an opportunity of being heard and for reasons recorded in writing, disqualify a person for a specified period or revoke the licence, on grounds including that he has used a vehicle in the commission of a cognizable offence, or has by his previous conduct as a driver shown that his driving is likely to be attended with danger to the public. Where a licence has been forwarded under Section 206(4), Section 19(1A) allows the authority, after hearing the holder, either to discharge him or to disqualify him for three months for a first offence, or to revoke the licence for a repeat.
- An order of a court under Section 20. On conviction of an offence under the Act, or of an offence in which a motor vehicle was used, the court may declare the person disqualified for such period as it specifies, and sub-section (2) makes disqualification mandatory on conviction under Section 185, for not less than six months.
- Automatic statutory suspension under Section 21. Where a person previously convicted under Section 184 has a case registered alleging that by such dangerous driving he caused death or grievous hurt, the licence becomes suspended for six months from the date the case is registered, or until his discharge or acquittal if earlier. Section 21(3) then requires the court to cancel the endorsement.
- Cancellation under Section 22. Sub-section (2) requires a court convicting a person a second time under Section 185 to cancel the licence.
The remedies, matched to the source
- Against a Section 19 order, use Section 19(3). A person aggrieved by an order under Section 19(1) or (1A) may appeal to the prescribed authority within thirty days of receipt. Section 17 deals with different licensing decisions. Read the provision on the order, preserve its receipt date and file under the matching appeal route.
- Against any disqualification order, apply under Section 23(3). A person in respect of whom a disqualification order has been made may, at any time after six months from the date of the order, apply to the court or authority that made it to remove the disqualification, and that court or authority may, having regard to all the circumstances, cancel or vary the order. A proviso bars a second application before three months from a refusal, so the first one should carry material rather than be a formality.
- On appeal against a conviction, ask expressly for a stay of the disqualification. Section 23(2) provides that a disqualification order made under Section 20 is not suspended or postponed while an appeal is pending, unless the appellate court so directs. Section 20(5) separately allows the court to which an appeal would ordinarily lie to set aside or vary a disqualification order, even where no appeal lies against the conviction itself.
- Where the case that triggered a Section 21 suspension has ended in your favour, take the discharge or acquittal order to the court, ask that the endorsement be cancelled under Section 21(3), then take that to the licensing authority.
Where a licence has been cancelled or suspended by a court under Section 22, sub-section (3) requires the court to take it into custody, endorse the order and send it to the issuing authority, which returns a suspended licence after the period expires on an application by the holder. The proviso is the part people do not expect: no such licence shall be returned unless the holder has, after the expiry of the period of suspension, undergone and passed a fresh test of competence to drive to the satisfaction of the licensing authority and produced a medical certificate in the prescribed form. Budget time for the test.
The endorsement, and the paperwork after
Section 24 requires the court or authority making a disqualification order to endorse the particulars on the licence, and to endorse any cancellation or variation made under Section 23(3). Sub-section (6) provides that where an appellate court varies or sets aside a conviction or order that has been endorsed, it shall inform the licensing authority, which shall amend the endorsement. Follow that through: an endorsement left standing after a successful appeal is read against you at every renewal. Under Section 19(2) the holder must in any event forthwith surrender the licence to the authority making the order, with a proviso for its return at the end of the disqualification, and if the licence expired while it was out of your hands, Section 15 governs renewal, with a fresh test of competence required where the application comes more than a year after the licence ceased to be effective.
Where the suspension arose out of a drunk driving matter, the criminal case and the licensing proceeding run on separate timetables and both have to be answered, which our guide on drunk driving penalties and licence suspension sets out in detail. If the licence was seized at a roadside stop, read the acknowledgement: one given under Section 206(3) authorises you to drive until the licence is returned or the date on it expires, while one given for a licence seized under Section 206(4) does not. The underlying challan is a separate matter, dealt with in our note on disputing an e-challan in Bengaluru.