Vehicles of Prez, VP to have number plates

The vehicles of India’s top constitutional authorities – the President, the Vice President, Governors and Lieutenant Governors – will soon have to display their registration numbers.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in its affidavit filed before a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar of the Delhi High Court said that it has written to the authorities concerned to get these vehicles registered.

“The offices of the President of India, Vice President, Governors and Lieutenant Governors in the country and Secretary (Ministry of External Affairs) have been asked vide letter dated January 2, 2018 to ensure that all the vehicles used by the President/President’s Secretariat, Vice President/Vice President’s Secretariat, Governor/ Lieutenant Governors/ or their officers/secretariat, Ministry of External Affairs be registered, if not done, and that they display registration mark as per the rules,” the affidavit said.

The affidavit filed through central government standing counsel Rajesh Gogna further said that in pursuant to the letter, the Vice President secretariat informed that “all the vehicles of this secretariat display their registration number including vehicles being used by the Vice President of India and his spouse”.

“The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has also intimated that it has 14 vehicles, which are used during the visit of foreign dignitaries. MEA has initiated the process of registration of vehicles,” the high court was told.

The ministry’s response came in the backdrop of a PIL seeking to enforce the display of registration number on cars of constitutional authorities and dignitaries.