The Supreme Court has stressed that issuing electronic challans alone is not enough and asked the Centre and state governments to take firm steps to recover traffic fines from violators.
During a hearing before a bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan, the governments informed the court that unpaid e-challan amounts across the country have accumulated to around ₹20,000 crore.
The bench noted that traffic police issue lakhs of e-challans, but effective collection of the penalty amounts is the key issue. It observed that many motorists do not pay the fines immediately.
As a possible solution, the court suggested that unpaid traffic penalties could be added to the violator’s household electricity bill. The judges said the possibility of disconnection could encourage timely payment, and asked the Centre and states to examine the proposal.
