Govt hikes fitness test fee for over 20-year-old motor vehicles
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New Delhi (PTI): Months after the government increased renewal charges for older vehicles, the transport ministry has raised the fitness test fee for motor vehicles older than 20 years to discourage people from keeping them.
The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH), in a latest notification issued on November 11, has said the higher fee slabs now begin from 10 years for commercial vehicles instead of 15 years, bringing more vehicles under the updated cost brackets.
It has created three clear age groups for fitness testing: 10-15 years, 15-20 years and above 20 years.
According to the notification, the renewal fee for light motor vehicles (LMVs) older than 20 years has been increased to Rs 15,000 from Rs 10,000.
The notification has made steep revisions to the fitness test fee for heavy trucks and buses older than 20 years. They will now have to pay Rs 25,000 for the fitness test, from Rs 3,500 earlier.
Medium commercial vehicles in the same age group will now have to pay Rs 20,000, and the fitness test of light motor vehicles above 20 years will cost Rs 15,000.
The fitness test fee for two-wheelers above 20 years has also been increased to Rs 2,000 from Rs 600 earlier.
The transport ministry, in its earlier notification in August this year, increased renewal charges for older vehicles.
In August, the Supreme Court ordered authorities not to take coercive action against the owners of diesel vehicles that are more than 10 years old and petrol vehicles older than 15 years in the Delhi-NCR.
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Allahabad HC orders FIR against Rahul Gandhi in dual citizenship case
Lucknow (PTI): The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Friday ordered an FIR be filed against Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in connection with an alleged dual citizenship controversy.
The bench permitted the state government to hand over the probe to any central probe agency after registration of the FIR.
The order was passed by a bench of Justice Subhash Vidyarthi on a petition filed by S Vignesh Shishir, who had challenged a January 28 order of a special MP/MLA court rejecting his plea for an FIR against Gandhi, the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
The special court had earlier held that it was not competent to adjudicate on issues related to citizenship.
The petitioner, a BJP worker from Karnataka, had sought registration of an FIR and a detailed probe into the matter, levelling allegations against Gandhi under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Official Secrets Act, the Foreigners Act and the Passport Act.
The complaint was initially filed before the special MP/MLA court in Rae Bareli. However, on the petitioner's request, the high court transferred the case to Lucknow on December 17, 2025.
The MP/MLA court in Lucknow subsequently dismissed the plea on January 28, 2026, prompting the petitioner to approach the high court, which has now ordered registration of an FIR.
In its order, the bench said that from a bare perusal of the allegations, prima facie cognizable offences were made out against Gandhi and hence the allegations required to be investigated.
The bench said that the special court should have looked into whether the allegations prima facie made out any cognizable offences or not, but it failed to consider it.
Earlier, Deputy Solicitor General of India SB Pandey produced the central government's records in the court relating to the citizenship controversy surrounding Gandhi.
Government counsel VK Singh also consented on behalf of the UP government that the allegations prima facie made out cognizable offences.
After having a detailed hearing, the bench found that the material on records showed that Gandhi had committed "cognizable offences" in having dual citizenship, and these allegations required to be probed.
The petitioner has alleged that Rahul is a UK Citizen and incorporated a company named M/S Backops Ltd in August 2003.
It was further submitted that Gandhi categorically admitted and voluntarily declared his nationality as British, having a Director Identification ID and London and Hampshire addresses.
In his petition, Shishir claimed that Rahul submitted the company's annual returns in October 2005 and October 2006, listing his nationality as British.
Thereafter, the company was dissolved through a dissolution application in February 2009.
According to the petitioner, the material placed before the court includes records suggesting that Rahul Gandhi may have been listed as a voter in the United Kingdom and participated in electoral processes there.
During the course of the hearing, the high court earlier directed the Ministry of Home Affairs to place all relevant records, including classified documents, before the court.
