"Will you act after more terror attacks?" Delhi HC pulls up State over unregulated used car market

Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday pulled up the Delhi government for its failure to regulate the sale and transfer of used vehicles.

The Court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by an organisation named Towards Happy Earth Foundation, highlighting the challenges in the implementation of Rules 55A to 55H of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, introduced in December 2022 to regulate authorised dealers of registered vehicles.

A Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela noted that the recent bomb blast at Red Fort was also carried out using a second-hand car, making the issue even more significant.

The probe into the November 10 Red Fort blast has exposed major gaps in the second-hand vehicle market in Delhi and neighbouring districts. The Hyundai i20 that exploded was never officially transferred, despite being sold in March. Over seven months, the car moved through three dealers before reaching the alleged suicide bomber, yet its Registration Certificate (RC) remained under the original owner, even as its value rose from Rs 1.3 lakh to Rs 2 lakh.

While the rules were intended to bring accountability to the second-hand vehicle market, the petitioner argued that they have failed in practice due to regulatory gaps and procedural hurdles.

According to the PIL, only a small fraction of India’s estimated 30,000–40,000 used vehicle dealers have been registered under the authorised dealer framework. In Delhi, not a single dealer has obtained registration, the petitioner claimed.

It also referred to the recent terror attack near Red Fort in which an 11-year-old vehicle, sold several times, was still registered in the name of its original owner. Advocate Samar Bansal argued for the petitioner. He was assisted by advocates Vijay Kasana, Sanyam Khetarpal, Vaibhav Sharma and Rahul Gupta.