Does Sarathi Parivahan require mobile number linking for licence validity?
Claim: Driving licences will be cancelled if mobile numbers are not linked by the end of September.
Fact: The claim is false. The Centre and Telangana government have not announced any rule stating that a driving licence will be cancelled or become invalid merely because a mobile number is not linked.
The Telangana fact-check unit has also rejected the viral social media posts, calling them misleading. Telangana transport department joint commissioner K Venkata Ramana clarified that a driving licence cannot be cancelled solely because its holder has not linked a mobile number.
Officials said mobile number linking is recommended because it enables motorists to receive challan, renewal and other driving licence-related updates on their phones and makes it easier to access online services.
The mobile number can be updated through the Sarathi Parivahan portal using Aadhaar details and OTP verification. If a driving licence record is not visible online, officials said this could be because some older records have not been fully migrated to the Vahan-Sarathi system. Such motorists can approach the concerned transport office to update their records and link their mobile numbers.
Verdict: False.
For more credible fact checks from Telugu Post, a signatory of IFCN (International Fact Checking Network), click here . Read this article from Telugu Post for more details.
