Supreme Court orders pilot to block fuel for uninsured cars

The Supreme Court has directed the central government to develop a pilot project that could deny fuel to vehicles lacking valid third-party insurance, a sweeping move aimed at addressing the widespread problem of uninsured vehicles on India's roads. The court issued the order on August 4, alongside a suite of technology-driven enforcement measures and an extension of mandatory insurance periods for new vehicles.

A bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Prashant Kumar Mishra directed the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India to prepare a roadmap for the "no insurance, no fuel" initiative. The court noted that the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas had expressed no objection in principle to the proposal. The bench stated that such a system would help identify uninsured and unregistered vehicles while encouraging owners to maintain active insurance coverage.

The directions were issued during the hearing of a motor accident compensation case, with the court observing that nearly 56 percent of vehicles in India, or approximately 16.54 crore out of 30.48 crore registered vehicles, operate without valid insurance. This...