Kollam: In an ironic twist, a vehicle belonging to the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) found itself on the receiving end of a fine after hitting the road without a valid pollution certificate.

The incident took place on Saturday afternoon at Oyoor Junction when an enforcement vehicle of the Kollam MVD unit, which was actively inspecting other vehicles for violations in the area, was caught in violation itself.

A vigilant youth who worked at a textile shop nearby noticed the MVD team conducting inspections and decided to check the department's own vehicle details using its registration number on the Parivahan portal. To his surprise, the search revealed that the vehicle’s pollution certificate had expired on January 25.

Based on the finding, the youth approached the MVD officials and demanded that they pay the fine, arguing that he himself had been penalised for a similar offence just days earlier. The law applies to everyone equally, he asserted.

Caught off guard, the MVD officials had no choice but to impose a fine of ₹2,000 on their own vehicle. They returned from the spot only after showing the youth proof of payment. However, a subsequent verification on the department's official website indicated that there was no offence recorded under this challan, and in fact, the vehicle had a valid pollution certificate until February 20, 2026.

Though they initially paid the fine in front of the complainant, the officials quickly uploaded the certificate to the system, effectively nullifying the penalty.

Fine can be avoided within seven days
According to senior MVD officials, a fine for an expired pollution certificate can be waived if a renewed certificate is uploaded to the website within seven days of the penalty being issued. This exemption, however, applies only to pollution certificates.