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The Supreme Court on Monday suggested that authorities explore unconventional measures to recover unpaid traffic challans, including adding the outstanding amount to electricity bills. The Court said such measures may ensure that vehicle owners clear pending fines, as non-payment of electricity dues could ultimately lead to disconnection of power.
The suggestion came during the hearing of a road safety-related public interest litigation, where the Court was considering the issue of recovery of e-challans issued for traffic violations. A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala KV Vishwanathan said merely issuing e-challans was not enough, and authorities must focus on recovering the fines. He said States and Union Territories were required to recover around 45,000 crore in e-challan dues, of which approximately 25,000 crore had been recovered so far. It is not just sufficient to keep issuing e-challans, Justice Pardiwala said. The Court said authorities needed to devise practical mechanisms for recovery while keeping ground realities in mind. It noted that an e-challan is ordinarily sent to the concerned court, where the person can appear and pay the fine. The Court, however, said several administrative restrictions could be imposed on vehicles and their owners until pending challans were cleared. It suggested that authorities consider blocking renewal of registration certificates, issuance of duplicate registration certificates and changes in ownership details. Fitness certificates should also not be issued until outstanding challans are paid. The Court further suggested blacklisting vehicles with unpaid challans on the Parivahan portal and blocking transfer of ownership. It also said driving licences could be prevented from being renewed and that steps could be taken to suspend licences that were already in force. Another measure suggested by the Court was to prevent the issuance of pollution-under-control (PUC) certificates to vehicles against which challans remained unpaid. The Court also suggested random checks of vehicles. If a vehicle is found to have an unpaid e-challan, authorities could take necessary steps, including impounding the vehicle. During the hearing, Justice Pardiwala also suggested linking pending traffic fines with electricity dues as an additional recovery mechanism. The Court indicated that if repeated enforcement measures fail, the authorities could explore adding the outstanding challan amount to the persons electricity bill. The broader proceedings arose from a road safety PIL in which the petitioner, Rajseekaran, also brought to the Courts attention the recent fire incident involving a sleeper bus in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, in which nine people were killed. Taking note of the incident, the Court directed the Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary, the Centre and the Secretary of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to respond to the issues raised in the petition concerning the safety of tourist buses. The Court also sought information on the action taken against the bus driver and owner, including whether they had been arrested. (ANI)
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