Madras High Court Refuses To Stay Tamil Nadu's Plan To Introduce Digital Driving Licences, RCs; Issues Notice On Plea

The bench of Chief Justice SA Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan has issued notice to the State Government and the Transport Commissioner in a plea challenging the communication issued by the Commissioner. The court also asked the State to file its counter to the plea. The court, however, refrained from granting any interim stay on the proposal.

It may be noted that on September 2, CM Vijay had announced the introduction of a facility to digitally download driving licenses on the day of completing the driving test and the registration certificate on the date of vehicle registration. The CM said that the facility aimed to ensure corruption-free and transparent administration and avoid delays in obtaining driving licenses and registration certificates. The proposal was to commence from September 15.

A Bangalore-based company, Force Identification Private Limited, has approached the court against the proposal. The company has also challenged the vires of Rule 5(3)(a) of the Tamil Nadu Information Technology (Electronic Service Delivery) Rules 2016. It was argued that the Rule should not be considered as one enabling a department, by an executive communication, to abolish every non-electronic mode of statutory public service without the service-specific notification and the safeguards mandated by the very same Rules. The petitioner also argued that the TN Rules could not be used as a substitute for the Motor Vehicle Act and the Central Motor Vehicle Rules.

The company submitted that it had already challenged a communication issued by the Corporation by which the existing manual mode of issuance and despatch of driving licenses and registration certificates was sought to be discontinued. It was argued that the tender process was stayed by the court, and the communication was issued during the pendency of the case.

The petitioner also argued that the communication was without proper statutory authority and contrary to the requirements of Articles 14, 19(1)(g), 162 and 166 of the Constitution. It was also argued that the communication was an impermissible exercise of executive power which altered the existing statutory regime without following due process.

The petitioner also made it clear that the challenge was not to digitisation of driving licence and registration certificate but only to making the same exclusive and discontinuing the existing delivery mechanism.

Case Title: Force Identification Private Limited v State of Tamil Nadu

Case No: WP No 37110 of 2026