Ministry of Road Transport issued a notification which informed that digital driving license and vehicle’s RC papers which are stored in DigiLochers, are now legally recognized at par with the original documents as per the IT Act 2000 and is valid under the Motor Vehicles Act 1988.
After countless petitions and RTI, finally, the government responded in a positive manner. Citizens have raised the issue that the documents available in DigiLocker or the mParivahan app are not considered valid by the traffic police or the motor vehicles department when asked to produce.
Further, it is also notified that the data related to the insurance of new vehicles and renewal date of a car’s insurance is also being uploaded by the Insurance Board (IiB) on the Government’s Vahan database. The same will be reflected in the mParivahan / eChallan app of the Ministry.
During an offense when the documents are required to impound a vehicle, the law agency can access Vahan. Sarthi database online through the eChallan system and therefore eliminating the need for physical seizure of any such documents.
A good move by the government. Making it more secure and replenishing the trust in people after Aadhar controversy would be the next challenge.