NEW DELHI: Ignoring traffic challans could soon mean more than just an unpaid fine. The Supreme Court has directed states and Union territories to take stringent action against vehicles with pending e-challans, including impounding them and blocking several online services until the dues are cleared.A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan said simply issuing e-challans was not enough, noting that nearly 47% of challans issued across the country remain unpaid.The court directed authorities to carry out random checks and impound vehicles if they are found to have outstanding e-challans.
RC, fitness, PUC services may be blocked
The Supreme Court said online services for vehicles with unpaid traffic fines should be frozen. Authorities should bar renewal of registration certificates (RCs), issuance of duplicate RCs and requests to update the owner’s address until pending fines are cleared.The court also directed authorities to deny fitness certificates to such vehicles and blacklist them on the Parivahan portal.The restrictions could also affect vehicle ownership transfers. The court said authorities should block the transfer of ownership of vehicles with outstanding challans, potentially preventing owners from selling them.Most significantly, the bench directed that no centre should be permitted to issue a pollution under control (PUC) certificate for vehicles with pending traffic fines.
Driving licence action for multiple violations
The Supreme Court also called for action against repeat offenders. For multiple traffic violations, authorities should stop renewal of the driving licence and take steps to suspend licences that are currently valid, the bench said.“Let there be random checking of vehicles, and if it is found that the e-challan issued has not been abided or honoured, necessary steps shall be taken to impound the vehicle itself,” the court said.Pulling up authorities for failing to recover pending fines, the bench said issuing lakhs of e-challans was not enough and questioned what was being done to actually recover the money.
Rs 49,194 crore in challans pending recovery
The court was informed that states and UTs have around Rs 49,194 crore to recover from e-challans issued over a period of time. Of this, around Rs 26,175 crore has been recovered, leaving a substantial amount still outstanding.The bench said authorities needed to work at the ground level and take into account the realities of enforcement.“We want to convey something to states/UTs/authorities in a plain and simple manner. It is not just sufficient to keep issuing e-challans to the person who is alleged to have violated the provisions of the law,” the court said.The case has been before the Supreme Court for nearly 14 years, after the writ petition was filed in 2012. The court said it had issued several directions over the years for effective implementation of the Motor Vehicles Act and Central Motor Vehicles Rules.It warned that if its directions continued to remain only on paper, the court could take “stern action” against the authorities.
What can happen if traffic challans remain unpaid?
- Vehicle can be impounded during random checks.
- RC renewal can be blocked.
- Duplicate RC issuance can be stopped.
- Owner-address updates can be denied.
- Fitness certificate can be withheld.
- Vehicle can be blacklisted on Parivahan.
- Ownership transfer can be blocked, making it difficult to sell the vehicle.
- Driving licence renewal can be stopped in cases involving multiple violations.
- Existing driving licence can be suspended.
- PUC certificate can be denied.
