Delhi: Rs 5,000 fine on vehicles plying without high security plate

According to officials, the HSRP was introduced in 2012-13 and was made mandatory for all new vehicles. In April 2019, the government made it mandatory for old vehicles in Delhi as well.

“The HSRP is very important as it helps in identifying stolen cars. Police have also cracked several criminal cases with just the plate. But the transport department has observed that several unregistered vehicles are plying without HSRP. To escape from police, they even paste stickers saying ‘IND’ on their number plate which is illegal. Also, there are many vehicles which have fancy numbers inscribed in regional languages. From tomorrow, if any unregistered vehicle is found plying on roads, we will issue a challan of Rs 5,000 under the drive,” said a senior transport department official.

Similar action and fines will be imposed on vehicles not displaying registration marks, officials said.

The difference between the HSRP and the old number plate is that the new ones are tamper-proof, made of aluminium, and come with non-reusable locks. Officials said that one cannot easily remove the locks, and if broken, it has to be reinstalled.

“The HSRP also has chromium-based Ashoka Chakra on the left with ‘IND’ and the vehicle identification number is laser encoded which is easy to scan and difficult to tamper with. The number plate also has the engine number, chassis number, and registration number, through which police can easily identify the owner. Other number plates are easy to tamper with and difficult to identify once stolen as they can be replaced,” said the official.

The department has also issued an SOP to all enforcement officers on implementing action against vehicles found violating norms.

“Each team will record by photograph/video of registration plate not being displayed to preserve evidence of such violation. They will also ascertain the name and address of vehicle dealers who supplied the unregistered vehicles,” read the SOP.

It has further asked enforcement teams to prepare a daily report of the number of vehicles challaned/impounded and to submit it to the control room and headquarters. A weekly report must also be submitted to the operation branch for action against vehicle dealers who supply unregistered vehicles, officials added.