Delhi HC questions government over failure to regulate sale of old vehicles

While questioning the city government for its failure to regulate the sale and transfer of used vehicles, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday (December 17, 2025) pointed out that a second-hand car was used in the recent bomb blast near the Red Fort.

A bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela asked the Delhi government to submit a detailed response on the issue of regulation of authorized dealers of registered vehicles.

“The car changed hands four times, but the owner did not change. So what happens? Is that man (the first owner) going to the slaughterhouse? What is this? How can you allow this? You will receive a phone call when two or three more bombs explode.” The board approached the Delhi government’s lawyer.

The fact that the bomb blast near the iconic Mughal-era monument was carried out using a second-hand car made the matter even more important, with the court reinstating the matter for hearing in January 2026.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) plea filed by an organization called Towards Happy Earth Foundation, which highlighted the difficulties in implementing rules 55A to 55H of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, which were introduced in December 2022 to regulate authorized dealers of registered vehicles.

The petition, submitted through lawyer Vijay Kasana, stated that the rules aimed to bring accountability to the second-hand vehicle market, but failed in implementation due to loopholes in the legislation and procedural hurdles.

“In reality, most used vehicles pass through multiple dealers before reaching the end buyer, but the rules only recognize the initial transfer to the first authorized dealer. As a result, the chain of custody is broken after the first step, defeating the very purpose of accountability,” the petition states.

Only a small portion of India’s estimated 30,000 to 40,000 used vehicle dealers are registered under the authorized dealer framework, the plea said.

The petition also stated that the 11-year-old vehicle used in the November 10 bomb attack near the Red Fort had been sold several times but was still registered in the name of its original owner.