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The Karnataka transport department has decided to extend the deadline for high-security registration plate affixation for old vehicles registered before April 1, 2019, by three months, until February 17, 2024.
Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said the decision to extend the deadline comes given the legal battle on HSRP affixation and with very few vehicle owners affixing the new number plates. Of the two crore vehicles, only 3.7 lakh vehicles have affixed HSRP.
“The affixation should have been finished by now, but it has become a legal battle. Hence, we have decided to give vehicle owners three months to complete it. A gazette notification in this regard will be issued in a day or two. There will be no penalty levied after the extension. However, some instances of overpricing and issuing of fake HSRP are being reported. If anyone registers a complaint with the transport commissioner, we will take action against the violators,” said Reddy.
The Karnataka transport department has challenged the single-bench order of the Karnataka High Court that directed the state government to include all HSRP manufacturers to affix these registration plates, citing contradiction from the central government notification on HSRP affixation rules.
The Karnataka High Court in October ordered a partial pause on an earlier single-bench order directing the implementation of approval processes for HSRP manufacturers. In the original order, the petitioners, High Security Registration Plate Manufacturers Association of India, challenged the state government notification issued on August 17 and 18, which had ordered that high-security plates from manufacturers authorised by vehicle manufacturers should be supplied and attached by original dealers.
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In addition, the transport department is also making provision to include vintage cars in the HSRP ambit, given that the dealers for such vehicles no longer exist in the state and also to ensure that the owners of such vehicles get to retain their original plates while they affix the HSRP.
The HSRP affixation comes amid allegations that the state government is favouring just a few dealers instead of the 20 recognised dealers by the central government. Karnataka Vehicle Number Plate Manufacturers and Sellers Association alleged that the monopoly of certain dealers in providing HSRP would destroy the livelihood of over 25,000 families in Karnataka employed in the licensing industry and deprive customers of availing different vendors at competitive prices.
The HSRP, a flagship project of The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, is an aluminium-made number plate fixed onto a vehicle by a minimum of two non-reusable snap-on locks and has various identifiable features. It has been made mandatory to fix them on vehicles registered before 2019 so that the old number plates are not tampered with and misused by car thieves. The HSRPs comprise details like engine and chassis numbers in a centralised database. The data helps in identifying a stolen car.
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