Pay Rs 100 & Escape Hefty Traffic Fines If You Have Forgotten To Carry Vehicle Documents

The catch is that, one would have to appear before the court of law and present the required documents within 15 days. This rule is to help those motorists who genuinely have forgotten their documents at home or some other place and have been stopped by the police for checking.

The Motor Vehicle Amendment Act, 2019 was implemented in most states and union territories across India earlier this month. The new rules have earned the wrath and fury of motorists as the new rules came with steep penalties.

The lowest penalty was Rs 1,000 for small offences like riding without wearing a helmet, driving without wearing the seatbelt, etc. Bigger offences like driving under the influence of alcohol, driving/riding in a one-way, etc, brought bigger penalties like a fine of Rs 10,000 and imprisonment as well.

Checking of vehicles and collection of fines increased in an unprecedented manner. The Bangalore Traffic Police collected a total of Rs 72.5 lakh in fines. In other cities like Delhi, the number was even higher. A few vehicles were fined quite heavily.

A truck registered in Rajasthan was penalised while it was plying in Delhi and the owners had to pay a fine of Rs 1.41 lakh. With such reforms coming in from the law, motorists were worried that the harassment by the police will only increase.

However, the report of the option to cancel the challan by producing documents in court has brought in some relief to motorists. According to a report by News18, motorists have the option of cancelling a challan produced against them for not carrying documents if they produce the documents in court within 15 days.

Motorists without documents can get a court challan at the spot by paying Rs 100. The catch is that the rider/driver will have to produce the documents in court within 15 days of the challan. If the documents that are produced in court are found to be genuine and valid even before the challan was issued, the court will then cancel the offence of not possessing vehicle documents.

This rule though is only applicable if the rider/driver has forgotten to carry the driving license, registration certificate, insurance copy, pollution under control certificate, etc. Other offences like not wearing a helmet, not wearing a seatbelt, running a red light, parking at the wrong spot, speeding, etc will still be penalised under the motor vehicle amendment act.

Since the new rules were enforced, the on-duty policemen do not collect fines. Their duty is to check for the offence and issue a challan. The motorist then has to go to a local authority or court and pay the fines.

If the challan states that the motorist does not have one or all documents of a vehicle, he can now go to the same court and produce the documents within 15 days of the challan being issued.

Thoughts On Paying Rs 100 To Escape Being Fined For Not Possessing Vehicle Documents

The rule to pay Rs 100 and then produce documents in court should help a lot of motorists who have genuinely forgotten their documents at home. However, it also leads us to think about the fact that people who genuinely have the documents would keep them ready in their vehicles or at least in their mobile phones.

Though the intention of this rule is good, it could soon turn into a loophole to get out of the clutches of the policemen on duty. Those looking to escape the hand of the law can easily pay Rs 100, get a court challan and never turn up in court, unless the police has some way to force them to do it.