Supreme Court Suggests Adding Unpaid Traffic Challans To Electricity Bills

The Supreme Court has suggested that States and Union Territories add unpaid traffic challans to electricity bills, so defaulters risk a power disconnection if they do not pay. The remark came on Monday, while hearing a plea on electronic enforcement of traffic violations.

The bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice KV Viswanathan made the suggestion after being told that States and UTs are yet to recover around ₹45,000 crore in e-challan fines. About ₹25,000 crore has been recovered so far.

How Unpaid Traffic Challans Could Be Recovered

Justice Pardiwala said issuing e-challans alone is not enough, since the real question is recovery of the fines. The Court said adding the dues to electricity bills would give defaulters an additional incentive to pay, as the power line could be disconnected otherwise.

Electricity bills are only one part of the discussion. The Court also spoke about blocking renewal of registration certificates, issuance of duplicate certificates and changes in ownership details until pending challans are cleared, and blacklisting such vehicles on the Parivahan portal.

Fitness and Pollution Under Control certificates could be withheld for these vehicles. The bench also discussed stopping renewal of driving licences and suspending licences that are already in force.

Justice Pardiwala said authorities need to work at the ground level, keeping ground realities in mind. The Court also suggested random checks to identify vehicles with unpaid e-challans, with impounding as a possible step if the fines have not been honoured.

Road Safety Case Behind the Hearing

The suggestions on unpaid traffic challans came during an application seeking directions to implement electronic enforcement under Section 136A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, read with Rule 167A of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989.

The application is part of a road safety petition filed in 2012 by Coimbatore-based orthopaedic surgeon S Rajaseekaran. The petition seeks coordinated measures to reduce road accidents and improve infrastructure and post-accident care.

In May this year, the Court directed States and UTs to strictly implement Rule 125H of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, which requires public service vehicles to carry location tracking devices and emergency panic buttons. No fitness certificate or transport permit is to be granted without them.

The bench also questioned whether directions issued over nearly 14 years have translated into results on the ground. It asked amicus curiae Senior Advocate Gaurav Agarwal to prepare a chart listing the directions, implementation timelines, current status and his remarks.