New Delhi: In a significant observation aimed at tackling the mounting pile of unpaid traffic fines across the country, the Supreme Court of India has suggested a novel approach: linking unpaid e-challans to the offenders’ electricity bills. The apex court floated this idea as a potential solution to recover nearly Rs 20,000 crore in outstanding traffic penalties.
A bench led by Justice JB Pardiwala highlighted that simply issuing e-challans is not solving the problem if the penalties are not being actively collected. During a hearing concerning road safety and the evasion of traffic rules, the court was informed that states and Union Territories had issued e-challans worth a staggering Rs 45,000 crore, out of which only Rs 25,000 crore has been recovered so far.
Expressing concern over the massive shortfall, the bench remarked, “If people are not paying traffic challans, add it to their electricity dues bill. They will have to pay electricity bills, else the power line will be disconnected. Work it out. In this country, you have to find a way out.” Justice Pardiwala further emphasised that while traffic police can easily issue lakhs of e-challans, the real challenge remains the effective recovery of the imposed monetary fines.
Besides the electricity bill linkage, the Supreme Court proposed several other stringent measures to compel vehicle owners to clear their dues. The court suggested that authorities should strictly stop the renewal of Registration Certificates (RC) and halt the issuance of duplicate certificates for vehicles with pending fines.
Furthermore, the bench recommended blacklisting such vehicles on the government’s Parivahan portal, thereby blocking any legal transfer of ownership. The court also discussed withholding critical documents like fitness and Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates until all outstanding challans are fully cleared.
The top court also advised targeting the driving licences of the defaulters by preventing their renewal and initiating steps to suspend currently active licences. “Let there be random checking of vehicles, and if found that the e-challan has not been honoured, necessary steps to be taken to impound the vehicle itself,” the bench noted.
The Supreme Court has urged the concerned authorities to assess the ground reality and adopt practical, strict measures to ensure that the routine issuance of e-challans translates into actual recoveries.