On 13 December 2001, a white Ambassador with a fake ministry sticker rolled into Parliament, carrying five armed men who launched a deadly terror attack. Investigations later showed the car had changed hands several times, but regional transport office (RTO) records still listed it under a prominent leasing and financial services firm. The paperwork had never caught up with reality.
Something similar, though with financial consequences, played out for Naveen Kumar. He had sold his motorcycle in 1994 and moved on, only to be jolted more than two decades later. In 2018, the Supreme Court held him liable for a fatal accident that had occurred in 1999—because the Registration Certificate (RC) still carried his name. In law, the “owner” is whoever appears on the RC—and owners pay.
This legal position collides with the messy reality of India’s pre-owned vehicle market. Transfer forms (29 and 30) are officially required, but sellers are often asked to sign them blank, with names and dates added later. Like the Parliament car or Naveen Kumar’s bike, vehicles often pass through unrecorded hands. Dealers avoid updating registration—not to save a few hundred rupees, but to dodge the two-to-four week Registration Certificate (RC) transfer process that eats into margins.
Personal experience confirms this. When selling my car recently to a nationwide online marketplace, I was asked to sign blank transfer forms—despite their stated policy of filled-in forms. They insisted both buyer’s name and date be left blank. I refused, and after threatening to walk away they let me fill in the date (but not the name). I also demanded full payment before handing over the car. The marketplace complied but withheld ₹2,000 to ensure my “cooperation” in the transfer. Weeks later, a stranger called asking for an OTP to complete the process; I refused until the marketplace confirmed it. I hope the car is no longer in my name, but to this day I have received neither official intimation of transfer nor refund of the ₹2,000.
I am addicted to watching the U.S. TV series The Rookie, in which police officers pull over cars, run the license plate, and instantly see the registered owner’s name, address, and insurance. Internet research shows that in the U.S. vehicles rarely float in limbo between owners. In California, for instance, the seller must notify the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) within five days and the buyer must register the car within ten; until both are done, the vehicle cannot be legally driven. By contrast, in India forms 29 and 30 are often left blank, dates added later, and transfers delayed for weeks or months—leaving liability squarely on the seller.
India has tried to address this. In September 2022, the transport ministry issued draft rules (http://bit.ly/46zij6F) to streamline the pre-owned vehicle market. Dealers were to obtain authorisation, formally record delivery from owners, and maintain digital registers of inventory and usage. Most crucially, once a car was handed over with due intimation, the dealer would be deemed the owner and liable for any incidents during possession. By empowering dealers to handle RC renewals and transfers while holding them accountable, the draft aimed to protect both sellers and buyers. Effectively the RC transfer process was to be digitised and made real time. Yet three years on, the rules remain unnotified.
Truth be told, no seller wants to see the car they sold splashed across newspapers as the one used in a bomb blast; nor does any buyer want to depend on a seller who delays RTO intimation to squeeze out more money. With nearly 60 lakh vehicles resold each year—many passing through multiple dealers—the risk goes beyond financial disputes to potential misuse for criminal ends. It took 21 years after the Parliament attack, and countless court rulings against sellers like Naveen Kumar, for draft rules to even emerge. It is time they are notified and enforced—so sellers are freed from unfair liability and the country is safer from the dangers of untraceable vehicles. Let us not wait for another terrorist attack to bring in these overdue changes.
he writer heads Fee-Only Investment Advisors LLP, a Sebi-registered investment advisor; X (formerly Twitter): @harshroongta
Disclaimer: These are personal views of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect the opinion of www.Businessstandard.com or the Business Standard newspaper
(A slightly different version of this column first appeared in the BUSINESS STANDARD on September 22, 2025)