Do you have any outstanding transport challan? The amount may be added to your electricity bill

Do you have any outstanding transport challans? Now you can add it to your electricity bill.

On September 28, the Supreme Court suggested ways to recover unpaid traffic fines. Around ₹20,000 crore e-challan fines remain unpaid at this time. The court said that issuing e-challans alone is not enough.

Justice JB Pardiwala questioned the efficacy of merely issuing challans. Instead, he suggested linking unpaid fines with electricity bills. The authorities could also get the money back through additional government fees.

Justice Pardiwala and Justice KV Viswanathan heard the matter jointly. The cause of action concerns the electronic enforcement of traffic offenses at the national level. This is part of road safety petition 2012. This case was originally filed by Coimbatore surgeon S Rajaseekaran.

Justice Pardiwala said the police regularly issue thousands of e-challans. However, the real challenge remains the actual enforcement of fines.

States and UTs have to recover ₹A total of 45,000 million crowns. Just for now ₹25,000 million crowns were recovered.

The court said the government must find better methods of enforcement. Merely issuing challans repeatedly will not solve the problem.

“It is not enough to just keep issuing e-challans. The police can issue thousands and thousands of such e-challans. The issue is enforcement of fines to be imposed through e-challans,” the Bar and Bench quoted Justice Pardiwal as saying.

“If people don’t pay the traffic guys, add it to their electricity bill. They will have to pay the electricity bills. Otherwise the power line will be disconnected. Solve it. You have to find a way out in this country,” the court added.

Judges discussed adding unpaid fines to electricity bills. People would then pay to avoid being disconnected from electricity. The court insisted that a practical solution must be found.

Other measures

Other proposed measures included blocking the renewal of vehicle registrations for non-payers. Duplicate certificates should also not be issued to them. The transfer of ownership should be blocked until the fines are paid.

The court also suggested blacklisting such vehicles on the Parivahan portal. This would prevent any transfer of ownership of these vehicles.

Other measures included the denial of certificates of competency and pollution certificates. These would only be restored after paying the fines.

The court also suggested blocking the renewal of driver’s licenses for non-payers. In serious cases, existing licenses may also be suspended.

The Supreme Court pushed for stricter enforcement measures nationwide. He emphasized on linking challan payments with essential government services.

Defaulters would thus feel real pressure to pay. The court wants concrete steps, not just paperwork.