India, Dec. 18 -- The Delhi high court on Wednesday came down sharply on the Delhi government for failing to put in place an effective mechanism to regulate the sale and transfer of used vehicles, flagging how gaps in the system can have grave consequences. The court pointed to the recent Red Fort blast, noting that the 11-year-old car used in the explosion had changed hands four times but continued to be registered in the name of its original owner, who was left to face the fallout.

A bench of chief justice DK Upadhyay and justice Tushar Rao Gedela said an "illegal market" in registered used vehicles was creating serious problems and repeatedly exposing original owners to legal and social consequences for incidents they had no role in....