Delhi HC asks govt to respond to ‘vehicle data leaks’ via mobile apps

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has sought a response from the central government on a PIL alleging that confidential information of vehicle owners was illegally shared through certain mobile applications.

The lawsuit raises concerns about how easy it is to access vehicle insurance and financial information by simply entering the vehicle’s license plate number and paying a nominal fee.

The PIL filed by advocate Gopal Bansal highlighted that the data disclosed includes information exempt from disclosure under the RTI Act, making the breach particularly alarming.

According to the petition, this information comes from key national databases such as the National Register of Driving Licenses and the National Register of Registered Certificates, both under the Union Ministry of Transport.

During a hearing on October 15, Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela took up the matter.

The National Informatics Center (NIC) lawyer explained that the agency did not allow any of the mobile apps in question to access the leaked information.

However, Justice Gedela pointed out the seriousness of the problem, remarking: “Perhaps you never thought that something like this would happen. There is nothing you can do about it now that it has entered the public domain.”

Central government lawyer Apoorv Kurup acknowledged that the situation was being investigated and asked for more time to file a detailed reply. The court gave the government eight weeks to respond. The next hearing is scheduled for February 19, 2025.

The PIL also shed light on the transport ministry’s earlier Bulk Data Sharing Policy & Procedure (BDS Policy), which was scrapped due to concerns over data breaches. However, Bansal argued that sensitive data would continue to be sold under the new policy.