New Delhi: Less than one percent of public service vehicles on Indian roads comply with the legal mandate to operate with a Vehicle Location Tracking Device (VLTD) and an emergency button—a requirement added to the Motor Vehicles Act (MVA) in 2018, two years after the December 2016 gangrape (also known as the Nirbhaya case).
Through the notification of Rule 125H, the Centre had made it compulsory for every public service vehicle to install two critical technological tools to enhance road safety, particularly for women and vulnerable passengers. These were intended to locate a vehicle as quickly as possible in an emergency.
Similarly, over 95 percent of heavy transport vehicles are plying without speed governors. As per Rule 118, notified in 2015, all transport vehicles manufactured on or after 1 October 2015 shall be equipped with speed governors, either at the manufacturing or the dealership stage.
This information related to compliance with the two rules under the MV Act was placed before a bench of justices JB Pardiwala and KV Vishwanathan on Wednesday. It was done in connection with a pending case where the top court has issued regular directions on road safety.
Senior advocate Gaurav Agarwal, who is assisting the court in the case, collated the data provided to the court. He told ThePrint, “The purpose of VLTD was to make public travel safe.” This gadget, along with an emergency button, installs a real-time location monitoring system and, in case of an emergency, can pinpoint the vehicle’s exact location.”
According to Agarwal, the addition of the two new Rules followed detailed arguments and discussions in court. In his written note to the court, Agarwal suggested that the Centre should hold a meeting with all car and transport vehicle companies to impress upon them to install VLTD and speed governors, respectively, at the time of manufacturing. In case the companies do not abide, their vehicles should not get a fitness certificate to run on the road.
Taking note of Agarwal’s submission and information placed before it, the bench Wednesday asked the Centre to convene a meeting within the next three months on both the issues.
Meanwhile, it directed the states to ensure all vehicles plying on the road are fitted with VLTD and emergency buttons. A similar exercise has to be carried out for fitting heavy transport vehicles with speed governors.
In case the vehicles fail to act upon the directives, the court gave liberty to the states not to grant a fitness certificate or transport to them unless the devices are installed and the same is reflected in the Vahan portal as well as the app set up by the Centre.
Though Rule 125H, with regard to VLTD and the emergency button in public service vehicles, was drafted in 2016, it was formally notified in October 2018.
In 2018 itself, the SC, while hearing the road-safety case, took note of this new Rule added to the MV Act and directed the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highway (MORTH) to assist states and Union Territories to ensure it is followed.
Two years later, the Himachal Pradesh High Court reiterated the importance of VLTD and reminded the government to ensure compliance of Rs 125H in “letter and spirit.” It suggested against registering vehicles and granting fitness certificates if the Rule was breached.
In January 2019, MORTH mandated the installation of VLTD and emergency buttons for new public service vehicles on or after 1 January 2019. The scheme was approved under the Nirbhaya Framework on 15 January 2020.
Non-compliance with the Rule invites a penalty of Rs 10,000 and imprisonment for using a non-compliant vehicle. There is a penalty of up to Rs one lakh for manufacturers/dealers delivering non-compliant vehicles. The law also empowers the authorities to detain and impound vehicles violating the rules.
In December 2025, MORTH addressed all states for strict enforcement of this rule.
With regard to speed governors, MORTH notified the guidelines in 2018, a year after the Supreme Court-appointed committee on Road Safety sent a letter to all states and UTs to ensure speed governors are installed in heavy transport vehicles. The committee warned that a failure would lead to the withdrawal of the approval certificate.
MORTH had also issued advisories from time to time.
The issue was, however, re-agitated in the court last year, pursuant to which the court asked all states to inform the central government about the steps taken to implement the direction on speed governors.
According to Agarwal, not many states have supplied this information to the Centre. But as per the ministry’s disclosure to the Parliament in December 2024, only 4.9 per cent of vehicles were found to be compliant.
“Though the Centre has said that it’s the states’ responsibility to implement the law, the Centre has the authority to direct all manufacturers to follow the rule and fit speed governors, and it should bar the state governments from issuing fitness certificates,” Agarwal told the court Wednesday.
Another serious lapse pointed out by Agarwal was the non-constitution of the National Road Safety Board that is envisaged under section 215B(2) of the MV Act. The purpose behind the board is to advise the Centre and State on all aspects of road safety and traffic management.
While noticing that the rules were framed over a year ago, the bench gave the Centre three months to set it up.
(Edited by Varnika Dhawan)
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