New Delhi: Endorsing the scheme for high-security number plates for vehicles, the Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Central government and the states to work out the modalities to implement it in six months.

A bench of Justice Arijit Pasayat sought making high-security, tamper-proof number plates compulsory to prevent the misuse of stolen vehicles in committing crimes and terrorist acts.

The bench, which also included Justice C K Thakkar and Justice L S Panta, gave its ruling on a public interest lawsuit, filed by All India Anti-Terrorist Front chairman M S Bitta, seeking implementation of the scheme that is hanging fire since its inception in 2002.

Bitta survived a major terrorist attack outside the Youth Congress headquarters here in Sept 1993 in which he was seriously injured. He had argued that the inactivity of the states in enforcing the scheme has resulted in increased misuse of stolen vehicles in militant activities.

The launch of the scheme to change over to the new number plates was being postponed repeatedly since 2001, he had said in his petition adding that though the Supreme Court had upheld the strict conditions for tenders called by the states, no state had implemented the scheme so far.

Even those states whose tenders were upheld by the Supreme Court, have since withdrawn the tenders and have done nothing in this direction, said Bitta in his petition.

The government had introduced the new number plate scheme in 2001 by amending the Motor Vehicles Rules. The proposed plates shall carry holograms and shall be suitable for hotstamping. It would not lose its attributes for five years.

Source : IANS