Jodhpur, Oct. 2 -- The Rajasthan high court has restrained regional or district transport officers from issuing fitness certificates to vehicles if their offices do not have the required equipment, a lawyer familiar with the matter said. The court observed that such certificates would be contrary to the purpose of the amended rules, which aim to systematically phase out unfit commercial and passenger vehicles and enhance road safety. A single bench of justice Kuldeep Mathur directed the state government to allow petitioners to operate and issue fitness certificates under the 'FIJA - 2018 Scheme' at Fitness Testing Stations in districts where Automated Testing Stations (ATS) as per the amended rules and office order dated July 2, 2025 have not yet been established or made operational. However, transport vehicles must be tested at Automated Testing Stations (ATS) before issuance of fitness certificates in districts where ATS have already been established and made operational. According to the petitioners, their fitness centres set up under the FIJA-2018 Scheme have been ordered to close immediately as they do not provide testing facilities through ATS for Heavy Goods Vehicles, Heavy Passenger Motor Vehicles, Medium Goods Vehicles, Medium Passenger Motor Vehicles and Light Motor Vehicles as required under the amended rules and the order dated April 1, 2025 issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. At the same time, fitness certificates are being issued and vehicle getting checked at RTOs without ATS. The petitioners argued that the RTO/DTO authorities do not even have facilities to conduct testing for issuing fitness certificates under the FIJA-2018 Scheme, which was introduced to upgrade Fitness Testing Stations for issuing or renewing certificates of fitness for transport vehicles. The additional advocate general said since the new guidelines were issued on July 2, 2025, the process for disposal of applications (about 168 applications received until July 31, 2025) seeking to set up ATS by various applicants including petitioners has been expedited and will be decided soon. "The applications received by the respondents seeking establishment of ATS in conformity with the applicable rules must be considered and decided as expeditiously as possible, preferably within sixty days. The RTO/DTO authorities which do not have the necessary equipment... shall not issue any more fitness certificates...," the bench said....