Supreme Court directs states to impound vehicles for unpaid traffic fines

SC said cops could issue lakhs of e-challans, but what was being done to recover the fines was the question at hand.

NEW DELHI: Many vehicle owners often ignore traffic fines for years, allowing unpaid challans to pile up and eventually land in courts. Supreme Court has now directed states and UTs to impound their vehicles, noting that around 47% of challans issued across the country remain unpaid. A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan said Thursday that issuing e-challans was not sufficient and stringent action should be taken to recover fines. "Let there be random checking of vehicles, and if it is found that the e-challan issued has not been abided by or honoured, necessary steps shall be taken to impound the vehicle itself," the bench said. SC said the authorities should freeze online services for vehicles with outstanding amounts. They should bar renewal of registration certificates, issuing of duplicate registration certificates, and not entertain any request to update the owner's address, it said. "The authorities shall also deny fitness certificate until all pending traffic fines are entirely cleared and further there should be blacklisting of the vehicle concerned on the Parivahan portal," SC said. "This will come in the way of the person concerned if he wants to sell his vehicle. The authorities should also proceed to block ownership transfer. For multiple violations, driving licence shall be suspended from renewal, and measures shall also be taken to suspend the driving licence which may be in force. What is most important is that no centre should be permitted to issue a PUC certificate," the bench said. Expressing displeasure with authorities for not taking action, the bench said, "We want to convey something to states/UTs/authorities plainly and simply. It is not sufficient to keep issuing e-challans to the person who is alleged to have violated the provisions of the law." SC said cops could issue lakhs of e-challans, but what was being done to recover the fines was the question at hand. "We are informed by the amicus... that states/UTs have to recover Rs 49,194 crore approximately towards the e-challans issued over a period of time. We are also informed that so far an amount of Rs 26,175 crore has been recovered.

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What we want to convey in simple words is that authorities need to work at the ground level, having regard to the ground realities," the bench said. With the case being heard for over a decade, the court decided to check the ground situation regarding implementation of its orders. "We have been monitoring this litigation by now over a period of almost 14 years. This writ petition is of 2012... During this interregnum period of one year, we have issued a slew of directions for meaningful and effective implementation of various provisions of Motor Vehicles Act and Central Motor Vehicles Rules framed therein," it said, adding that if all these were going to remain on paper and not going to be implemented, then "we may have to take stern action which may not be liked by the authorities".