Many Internet of things (IoT) applications have been developed and implemented on unreliable wireless networks like the Delay tolerant network (DTN), however, efficient data transfer in DTN is still an important issue for the IoT applications. One of the application areas of DTN is Vehicular Delay Tolerant Network (VDTN) where the network faces communication disruption due to lack of end-to-end relay route. It is challenging as some of the nodes show selfish behavior to preserve their resources like memory, and energy level and become non-cooperative. In this article, an Honesty based Democratic Scheme (HBDS) is introduced where vehicles with higher honesty level are elected as heads -- during the process. Vehicles involved in the process would maximize their rewards (reputation) through active participation in the network activities whereas nodes with non-cooperative selfish behavior are punished. The honesty level of the heads is analyzed using Vickrey, Clarke, and Groves (VCG) model. The mathematical model and algorithms developed in the proposed HBDS technique are simulated using the VDTNSim framework to evaluate their efficiency. The performance results show that the proposed scheme dominates current schemes in terms of packet delivery probability, packet delivery delay, number of packets drop, and overhead ratio.