The Kerala High Court has directed the Motor Vehicles Department to accept a physical payment of Rs 1.55 lakh from an e-auction winner after technical glitches in the Parivahan e-Auction portal and Kerala e-Treasury system prevented him from completing the transaction online.
Justice Murali Purushothaman issued the order on a petition filed by Tomy Thomas of Idukki, who had won the auction for a fancy vehicle registration number. The court directed the Joint Regional Transport Office in Idukki to accept the outstanding amount through physical remittance.
The order also protects the auction winner from losing the number because of the payment failure. The court directed that the fancy registration number should not be allotted to anyone else if Thomas remits the balance amount within two days.
According to the petition, Thomas made repeated attempts to pay the balance through the Parivahan e-Auction portal and the Kerala e-Treasury system. The payment could not be completed because of technical problems affecting the online process.
After the failed attempts, Thomas submitted representations to the Parivahan help desk and the transport commissionerate. His grievance remained unresolved, prompting him to approach the High Court for relief. The department acknowledged the technical glitches during the hearing.
The case places responsibility on the transport administration to provide an alternative payment route when a digital government platform prevents a successful transaction. In this instance, the court’s direction allows the department to receive the amount physically instead of requiring the petitioner to continue using the affected online systems.
The order concerns a time-sensitive government service in which an auction winner could otherwise lose an allotted number because of a system failure. The two-day window specified by the court applies to the remittance of the Rs 1.55 lakh balance amount and to the protection of the registration number from re-allotment.
The Joint RTO, Idukki, is required to accept the physical remittance within the period set by the court. The supplied report does not specify whether the Parivahan e-Auction portal or the Kerala e-Treasury system has since been restored or whether the department has announced wider corrective measures.
