Jaspal Singh v Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors

Facts

The appellant, Jaspal Singh, was an approved driving instructor whose name was on the Register of Approved Driving Instructors. On 13 March 2026 the Registrar removed his name on the ground, under section 128(2)(e) of the Road Traffic Act 1988, that he had ceased to be a fit and proper person to have his name entered on the Register. The Registrar relied on two matters that the appellant had not declared: a police caution in 2022, which the Registrar's chronology records as being for assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and a motoring conviction received on 8 November 2023 for driving without due care and attention (offence code CD10), which attracted six penalty points. The Registrar also relied on a renewal application in June 2022 in which the appellant declared that he had received no relevant caution or conviction. The appellant accepted that he had not notified the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency. He said that he had misunderstood his obligations, that the caution arose from an isolated altercation during a period of exceptional stress, and that the driving was an evasive manoeuvre in the dark and heavy rain. He challenged the decision as procedurally unfair, insufficiently reasoned and disproportionate. He appealed to the First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber), which heard the appeal by video on 1 September 2026. The appellant appeared in person and called his brother, who had been a passenger at the time of the driving incident. The Registrar was represented by Mr Raja.