A petition before the Bombay High Court has raised concerns over the widespread registration and certification of public service vehicles lacking the mandatory AIS-140 Vehicle Location Tracking Devices (VLTD) and panic buttons [Om auto tech v. State of Maharashtra & Ors.]

The plea filed by authorized device distributors – Om Auto Tech and Om Automobiles – states that Regional Transport Offices (RTOs), using manipulated or mismatched VLTD data, have done vehicles registrations without physical installation of such tracking devices or verifying whether they are functional. 

They claim that the unique IMEI-linked vehicle data was being altered in an unauthorised manner and mapped onto different vehicles.

These actions are a clear violation of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, the plea argues. It adds that after the tragic Nirbhaya rape case in Delhi in 2012, the Central Ministry for Road and Transport made the installation of these devices mandatory for public vehicles.

However, because of the alleged actions, the safety provisions are rendered nugatory, the plea argues.

“The failure to ensure functional VLTD systems has resulted in vehicles operating without effective emergency response mechanisms, thereby defeating the object of the safety framework introduced pursuant to the ‘Nirbhaya Framework’ guidelines and posing serious risk to passengers, particularly women and children,” it adds. 

The distributors have also contended that selective and discriminatory enforcement by RTO officers has adversely affected their right to trade by permitting non-compliant operators to function in violation of rules. 

The plea prays for an FIR and time-bound police investigation into the alleged digital data tampering. They have also sought an independent inquiry into illegal vehicle approvals and strict implementation of the rules.