The Kerala High Court has directed the Motor Vehicles Department to ensure that unauthorised modifications to vehicles involved in accidents are properly documented, including through photographs and videos uploaded to the electronic accident reporting portal. The Court also directed the Kerala Police to ensure strict compliance with its earlier road-safety orders.
A Division Bench of Justice Anil K. Narendran and Justice Muralee Krishna S. passed the order on October 9, 2026, in a suo motu writ petition concerning vehicle modifications that may endanger other road users.
Background
The proceedings arose from concerns over vehicle alterations that violate prescribed safety standards. In earlier orders, the Court had highlighted the use of dazzling auxiliary lights, red-blue strobe lights, multi-coloured LED fittings, excessively wide tyres, wheel spacers and modified exhaust systems capable of emitting flames.
The Bench had also raised concerns about unauthorised alterations that could increase the risk of injury to pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and occupants of other vehicles.
During the proceedings, the Transport Commissioner informed the Court that instructions had been issued to officials to upload colour photographs showing unauthorised alterations to the electronic Detailed Accident Report (e-DAR) portal. The portal already provided facilities to record vehicle modifications and upload photographs and videos, but some inspecting officers had not been following the process.
The Court noted that photographs uploaded to e-DAR could be viewed and downloaded from the online database but were not appearing on printed copies of the reports. The Transport Commissioner had communicated this technical issue to the National Informatics Centre (NIC) for rectification. A separate request was also being made to introduce a photograph-upload facility on the VAHAN portal for inspections conducted at Regional Transport Offices and Sub-Regional Transport Offices.
Explaining the importance of vehicle safety standards, the Bench referred to AIS-120, which governs external projections on certain passenger vehicles. The standard seeks to reduce the risk or seriousness of bodily injury caused by vehicle bodywork during a collision.
The Court observed that the standards address even detailed aspects of vehicle construction and maintenance to protect road users.
It further emphasised the importance of documenting modifications that could affect safety, including alterations to engine power and performance and changes to the manufacturer's braking system.
The High Court directed the Transport Commissioner, through the concerned Deputy Transport Commissioners, to ensure that inspecting officers upload vehicle modification details, photographs and videos to e-DAR for vehicles involved in accidents. The records must also cover safety-standard violations that increase the risk or seriousness of bodily injury and may attract punishment under Section 182A(4) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
The Court further directed that unauthorised alterations affecting engine power, vehicle performance and the manufacturer's braking system must be included in the modification details recorded on the portal.
It also directed the Kerala State Police Chief to take necessary steps to ensure strict compliance with the Court's earlier directions, in letter and spirit, to protect road users, including pedestrians.
The writ petitions were listed for further consideration on October 28, 2026, at 2:00 p.m.
