If your vehicle receives an online traffic challan, you are issued a notice to pay the fine. However, the Supreme Court on Monday flagged the lack of an effective recovery mechanism and floated an idea to link unpaid traffic challans with electricity bills to recover outstanding dues.
A Bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice KV Viswanathan suggested that States and Union Territories consider linking unpaid traffic challans to electricity bills while hearing a plea concerning the electronic enforcement of traffic violations and recovery of unpaid e-challan fines.
Justice Pardiwala said merely issuing e-challans was not enough and stressed the need to focus on recovering the fines.
“Police may issue thousands and lakhs of such e-challans. Question
is recovery of fines as sought to be imposed by way of the e-challans,” Justice Pardiwala said, as reported by Bar & Bench reported.
The Supreme Court suggested that adding unpaid traffic fines to electricity dues could provide defaulters with an additional incentive to clear them.
“If people are not paying traffic challans, add it to their electricity dues bill. They’ll have to pay electricity bills else power line will be disconnected. Work it out. In this country, you have to find a way out,” the Bench said.
The court was informed that States and Union Territories are yet to recover around Rs 20,000 crore in e-challan dues.
Other Measures Suggested By SC
The Supreme Court also suggested several measures to ensure that vehicle owners clear their outstanding traffic challans.
The court suggested that:
* Registration certificates should not be renewed until all outstanding challans are cleared.
* Duplicate registration certificates should not be issued to vehicles with unpaid challans.
* Changes in vehicle ownership details should be blocked until outstanding fines are paid.
* Vehicles with unpaid challans could be blacklisted on the Parivahan portal.
* Ownership transfers could be blocked for vehicles with pending fines.
* Fitness certificates and Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates could be withheld.
* Renewal of driving licences could be stopped in cases involving unpaid challans.
* Steps could be taken to suspend driving licences that are already in force where outstanding fines remain unpaid.
The suggestions were made as the court examined ways to strengthen enforcement and improve the recovery of unpaid e-challan fines.
