Supreme Court Asks Petitioner Challenging 'FASTag' Policy To Approach Delhi HC

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a plea challenging the mandatory fitting of FASTags in motor vehicles being made compulsory for purposes of renewal of fitness certificate & insurance by third party. A three-judge Bench of Chief Justice SA Bobde, Justice Bopanna and Justice Ramasubramanian has granted the petitioner liberty to withdraw the plea and first approach the Delhi High Court. During the hearing today, Advocate Dhruv Tamta, appearing on behalf of the petitioner, requested the Court to consider the case as it will have a national impact. "Its okay, we can have advantage of the High Court's opinion as well." - the Bench said.The present plea filed by Advocate Dhruv Tamta, on behalf of the petitioner Rajesh Kumar stated that the government had introduced the fastags with the object of ensuring that the payment of fees be 100% at Toll Plazas through the Electronic Means only and to ensure that the vehicles pass seamlessly through the Fee Plazas, there is no waiting time at the Plazas and fuel would be saved. However, this objective is clearly distinguishable from the object with which the requirement of insurance and fitness certificate of a vehicle is required. While the utility of Fastags is limited to the crossing of the toll plaza on the highway, the requirement of having insurance and fitness certificate for the vehicle even before it is released from the showroom and its subsequent renewal is to check the condition of the car. Therefore while the FASTag has limited application, the latter has general application and thus the two cannot be linked. The petition has challenged two notifications dates 2nd November 2018 and 6th an over 2020 that mandated the renewal of fitness certificate only after the fitment of FASTag for the Transport Vehicles. A valid FASTag has been made mandatory for getting a new 3rd Party Insurance. According to the petitioner, fitness certificate and insurance certificate operate on different footing than the fastags. The fastag being a mechanism for realizing toll tax, will only operate at highways and have no usage for cars being driven in the municipal limits of a State. Therefore it is just and appropriate that linkage of procuring fastags with the fitness certificate and insurance certificate may not be insisted. The petition further stated that that the power to levy tax and its realization cannot travel beyond the objective of the tax and cannot be made penal in nature. The impugned notifications have therefore failed to take into account that there may be class of citizens with limited means of survival and who are leading retired life but have to maintain vehicles in their home for limited purpose. Therefore making fastags mandatory for such vehicles being driven within state is unreasonable, arbitrary and violates Article 19 of the Constitution of India and is liable to be struck down to that extent.

Supreme Court Asks Petitioner Challenging 'FASTag' Policy To Approach Delhi HC

Srishti Ojha

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