Colour-coded stickers: HC adjourns hearing over charging permissible fee

The Delhi High Court on Friday adjourned till February 12 hearing on the petition filed by Delhi Congress President Anil Chaudhary seeking direction to Delhi Government to charge only the permissible fee of ₹12.15 from the vehicle owners in Delhi for the purpose of obtaining the the 'colour-coded stickers'.

A Division Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh deferred the hearing on Public Interest Litigation filed by Chaudhary Anil Kumar through advocates Sunil Fernandes, Sunil Kumar and Nupur Kumar.

The petition has challenged the Public Notice issued in the month of November 2020 by the Transport Department, Government of Delhi for affixation of colour coded sticker on old vehicles, registered in Delhi. The petitioner said that he wants to bring to the kind attention of the Court, a prospective scam of almost ₹350 crores and prays for grant of urgent orders to prevent the same.

"It is crucial to note that the price of the Third Registration Plates/Hologram Sticker has been notified to Rs. 12.15 paise. The residents of Delhi are now been forced to purchase the colour-coded sticker to be affixed on the Third Registration Plates/Hologram Sticker for an amount of Rs.141.60 at the venue of the car dealerships. There is a straight increase of more than 10 times the notified price, by the OEMs. There are presently around 35 lacs four-wheeled vehicles plying in the NCT of Delhi. If every one of these 35 lacs vehicle owners are forced to pay ₹129.45 more i.e., the difference between Rs.141.60 and Rs.12.15, then for the 35 lac vehicle owners, the amount comes to Rs.45,30,75,000 Crores," read the petition adding that this was clearly an example of unfair loss to the residents of Delhi and unfair gain to the Private Vendors / OEM at the behest of the GNCTD.

The petitioner apprised the court that public notice was purportedly issued in compliance with the directions passed by the Supreme Court in its orders dated 13.08.2018 and 30.09.2019 in petition titled as 'M.C Mehta vs. Union of India, wherein the apex court had directed the implementation of a colour-coded sticker scheme on old and new vehicles, as a 'third sticker' of the High-Security Registration Plate (HSRP) scheme.

As per the HSRP Scheme, instead of the traditional number plates, the High-Security Registration Plate is to be affixed on all vehicles in Delhi. The HSRP Scheme consists of two number plates, one each at the front and at the back of the Motor Vehicle. Each of these two number plates has certain distinctive features that make it secure from theft and counterfeiting.

A 'third registration mark' is also a part of the HSRP Scheme. This third registration plate is in the form of a 'Hologram Sticker', of the size of 100mm x 60mm, which is to be affixed on the inner side of the left-hand top corner of the windshield of the Motor Vehicle (Third License Plate / Hologram Sticker).