Chapter XIII — Offences, Penalties And Procedure
Section 198 — Unauthorised interference with vehicle
Written and checked byManju Shekhar· Motor Law & Compliance· Updated 10 October 2026
Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (Act 59 of 1988)
Text of the section
Unauthorised interference with vehicle.—Whoever otherwise than with lawful authority or reasonable execuse enters or mounts any stationary motor vehicle or tampers with the brake or any part of the mechanism of a motor vehicle shall be punishable with fine which may extend to one hundred rupees.
Reproduced from the India Code text of the Act. Bracketed superscript numerals are the official footnote markers for earlier amendments.
Amended by the 2019 Amendment Act
In section 198 of the principal Act, for the words “with fine which may extend to one hundred rupees”, the words “with fine of one thousand rupees” shall be substituted. 84.
This is the amending instruction from the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 (Act 32 of 2019), quoted verbatim. Read it together with the text above — the consolidated version is the section as it reads once these changes are applied.
Amended by the Jan Vishwas Act, 2026 — in force from 15 August 2026
(ZM) For section 198, the following section shall be substituted, namely:— “198. Unauthorised interference with vehicle.— Whoever otherwise than with lawful authority or reasonable excuse, without prejudice to any liability under the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023),— (a) enters or mounts any stationary motor vehicle shall be liable to penalty of one thousand rupees; (b) tampers with the brake or any part of the mechanism of a motor vehicle shall be punishable with a fine of ten thousand rupees.”.
Amending instruction from the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026 (No. 8 of 2026), Schedule entry 51, quoted verbatim. It took effect for the Motor Vehicles Act on 15 August 2026 under S.O. 4100(E), 24 July 2026. Where it conflicts with the text above, this later change prevails.
Before you rely on this. The base text above is the Act as consolidated by the India Code, which predates the 2019 amendment; 2019 and 2026 changes are shown separately rather than merged in. Later amendments may also apply. For anything official, read the current text on the e-Gazette or the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways site.
All sections
Browse the full arrangement of sections.
Violations & penalties
What each offence costs in practice.