SC suggests linking unpaid traffic challans to electricity bills
What's the story
The Supreme Court of India has proposed a novel way to recover unpaid traffic challans. The court suggested that states and union territories could add these dues to electricity bills to recover the outstanding fines. "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," it said.
Recovery focus
Justice Pardiwala's remarks on e-challan recovery
Justice JB Pardiwala emphasized that merely issuing e-challans isn't enough, stressing the importance of recovering these fines.
"It is not just sufficient to keep issuing e-challans. 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," he said.
The court was hearing a plea on electronic enforcement of traffic violations and recovery of unpaid e-challan fines.
Recovery measures
Other measures suggested for recovering unpaid fines
The court made the suggestion after it was told that states and union territories still need to recover around ₹45,000 crore in e-challans, with about ₹25,000 crore recovered so far.
It then proceeded to discuss other measures to recover unpaid e-challan fines.
These included barring renewal of registration certificates and blocking ownership transfers for vehicles with unpaid challans.
It also suggested blacklisting such vehicles on the Parivahan portal and withholding fitness and Pollution Under Control certificates.
Court
'Let there be random checking of vehicles'
The court also suggested random vehicle checkings to identify those against which e-challans remained unpaid.
"Let there be random checking of vehicles and if found that e-challan has not been honored, necessary steps to be taken to impound the vehicle itself," it said, stressing that "authorities need to work at the ground level having regard to ground realities."
Road safety
Plea part of long-standing public interest litigation on road safety
The suggestions were made while hearing a plea for electronic enforcement under Section 136A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
The plea is part of a long-standing public interest litigation on road safety filed in 2012 by Coimbatore-based orthopedic surgeon S Rajaseekaran.
The petition seeks coordinated measures to reduce road accidents and improve infrastructure and post-accident care.
Implementation review
Directions issued by SC for road safety enforcement
The court has issued several directions over the years for road safety and enforcement of the Motor Vehicles Act.
In August 2025, it said it would also consider issuing directions for the creation of portals to facilitate payment of compensation to road accident victims.
Most recently, in May, it directed states and UTs to strictly implement Rule 125H of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, requiring public service vehicles to be equipped with vehicle location tracking devices and emergency/panic buttons.