SC seeks Centre’s response on integrating motor vehicle data for improved traffic enforcement

The Supreme Court has directed the Centre to respond to a proposal for integrating data related to motor vehicles across multiple platforms to streamline traffic surveillance and compliance monitoring. The application, filed by Hemant Jain in connection with an ongoing public interest litigation (PIL) on road safety, points out the fragmentation of key data on vehicle registration, insurance, pollution compliance, and the installation of speed-limiting devices. Currently, these data are stored on separate government portals: VAHAN for vehicle registration, SARATHI for driving licenses, the Insurance Information Bureau (IIB) for vehicle insurance, and the Pollution Under Control Certificate (PUCC) database, among others. Jain’s application emphasizes that these separate platforms are not interlinked, creating barriers to effective enforcement.

The bench, headed by Justice Abhay S Oka, noted that the lack of integration between these systems hinders the ability of authorities to track offenders, identify overaged or uninsured vehicles, and address increasing pollution levels. The application stressed that this disconnection prevents authorities from implementing timely corrective actions and from monitoring road safety trends or traffic violations effectively. Without a unified system, compliance with the Motor Vehicles (MV) Act remains difficult to enforce, leading to gaps in accountability.

Jain’s application cited alarming statistics regarding non-compliance with MV Act provisions. Of the 21.8 million transport vehicles in the country, only 1.07 million are fitted with mandatory speed-limiting devices. Among the 385 million registered motor vehicles, only 175 million have valid insurance. These figures demonstrate widespread non-compliance with basic vehicle safety and regulation standards. Furthermore, the absence of an integrated system makes it difficult for enforcement agencies to track such violations and take appropriate action, as the relevant data is spread across various disconnected platforms.

The application also highlighted the benefits of leveraging existing digital infrastructure to create an integrated system that would allow law enforcement agencies to automate processes such as issuing e-challans, track non-compliant vehicles, and precisely identify overaged, uninsured, or polluting vehicles. By integrating the disparate databases, authorities would be able to access a unified view of vehicle compliance, thus improving enforcement efficiency and ensuring road safety regulations are better upheld.

The Supreme Court bench, which also included Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, issued a notice to the Centre, directing it to file a counter affidavit by March 17. The matter will be reviewed in court on March 24. This development follows the Court’s September 2024 order, which instructed all states and Union territories to implement Section 136A of the Motor Vehicles Act. This provision mandates the use of electronic surveillance tools such as speed cameras, CCTVs, speed governors, and automatic number plate recognition systems to enhance road safety and reduce accidents.