The Bombay High Court has issued notice on a petition alleging that Maharashtra RTOs registered and cleared public vehicles without verifying mandatory AIS-140 tracking devices and panic buttons. The petitioner also alleges manipulation of 12 IMEI numbers linked to its inventory and seeks an FIR and time-bound forensic investigation.

The Bombay High Court is examining allegations of lapses in verifying mandatory tracking and emergency safety equipment in public vehicles | AI Generated Image

Mumbai, October 1, 2026: A petition has been filed in the Bombay High Court alleging lapses by Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) in Maharashtra, and claiming that public service vehicles were being registered and issued fitness certificates without physical verification of mandatory vehicle tracking and emergency safety devices.

The petition, filed by authorised device distributor Om Auto Tech, alleges that several Inspectors of Motor Vehicles (IMVs) approved registration and fitness renewals despite vehicles allegedly not having functional AIS-140 Vehicle Location Tracking Devices (VLTDs) and emergency panic buttons.

Petition Cites Safety Device Rules

The plea, filed through advocate Atal Dubey, points to alleged violations of Rule 125H of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, under which specified public transport vehicles are required to be fitted with AIS-140 compliant tracking devices and emergency buttons. The system is intended to enable real-time tracking and provide an emergency mechanism, particularly for the safety of women and children.

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According to the petition, IMVs in various RTO jurisdictions, including Mumbai Central, Andheri, Borivali, Panvel and Navi Mumbai, allegedly approved vehicles without physically verifying the presence and functioning of the devices or checking their backend validation on the State's Vahan Shakti portal.

Alleged Manipulation Of Device Data

The petitioner claims the alleged irregularities came to light after 12 unique IMEI numbers assigned to its inventory were found to have been altered and mapped to different vehicles in government records. It alleges that at least 10 commercial vehicles were subsequently cleared for operation using the allegedly tampered electronic identifiers.

Vehicle details, engine numbers and chassis numbers were altered without our knowledge or consent, the plea alleged. It alleged that despite the security of the firm's login credentials, the altered IMEIs were approved by transport authorities, resulting in vehicles allegedly operating without functional tracking devices or panic buttons connected to government monitoring systems.

Complaints Filed With Authorities

The petition also states that complaints were submitted to the APMC police station in Navi Mumbai in June 2025, followed by representations to the Transport Commissioner. However, the petitioner claims that no effective corrective action or police investigation followed.

It further alleges that attempts to subsequently link fresh devices to the vehicles revealed gaps between their registration dates and device activation dates, raising questions over compliance at the time of registration.

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Petitioner Seeks Forensic Probe

The petitioner has invoked Articles 14 and 19(1)(g) of the Constitution and sought directions for registration of an FIR and a time-bound forensic investigation into the alleged manipulation of vehicle and device data. It has also sought strict enforcement of the mandatory safety requirements across RTOs.

The HC has issued notice to the respondents.

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