Electronic monitoring of traffic violations: Displeased SC panel directs UP, states to expedite steps
The court had also directed states to ensure compliance of section 167 A of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules by issuing challans on the basis of footage from the electronic devices
In a meeting in Delhi on Friday the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety (SCCoRS) headed by justice Abhay Manohar Sapre expressed displeasure over the slow progress on measures for electronic monitoring of traffic violations in Uttar Pradesh, officials privy to the meeting disclosed.
According to them, the committee directed all states, including UP, to expedite measures for installation of electronic devices to monitor traffic violations and issue challans accordingly as directed by the apex court in its order in January this year.
“The committee was not happy with the progress in several states, including UP, and asked them to take immediate steps for electronic monitoring, priroritising roads and highways that are the most accident-prone,” a senior official said. “We will soon apprise the committee again of the progress as the committee is to present the final status report in the Supreme Court in March.”
According to him, the SCCoRS will now hold meetings with each state separately to know the progress and issue necessary directions.
In its order on January 20, 2025 in the writ petition No 295 of 2012, S Rajaseekaran vs UOI and others, the Supreme Court directed the states to take immediate steps to implement Section 136 A of the Motor Vehicles Act, which pertains to the electronic monitoring and enforcement of road safety. The court had also directed states to ensure compliance of section 167 A of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules by issuing challans on the basis of footage from the electronic devices.
According to people in the know of things, UP officials attending the meeting on Friday complained against the National Highway Authority of India.
Authorities highlighted that data integration across platforms like IRAD, eDAR, CCTNS, Vahan, Sarthi, and eChallan remains inconsistent, hampering real-time accident tracking and response. While some expressways, such as Purvanchal and Agra-Lucknow, have installed speed cameras and ANPR systems, monitoring remains inadequate, with only four out of 93 NHAI highways covered by digital enforcement.
In the meeting, concerns were raised over delays in accident data feeding by police, transport, and health agencies, leading to gaps in effective monitoring. The legality of Aadhaar linking for accident victims and offenders is also under discussion, with no clear consensus among stakeholders.
A review of challan issuance versus violations detected in major Uttar Pradesh cities showed discrepancies. In Agra, for instance, 4.08 crore violations were recorded in 2024, but only 4.45 lakh challans were generated, with a minuscule recovery rate of 2.34%.
Prayagraj and Kanpur also exhibited enforcement inefficiencies, with 36% and 22% gaps, respectively, between violations and challans.
In their presentation, the authorities said as many as 2,200 ambulances under toll-free no 108 and 250 ALS ambulances with GPS System were functional in the state and response time of these ambulances had been reduced to 8.23 minutes from 15 minutes on an average.
They also said that emergency services were provided in 47 medical colleges/institutes in 44 districts.
The SCCoRS directed officials to further take measures to strengthen emergency care on highways to minimise no of deaths in road accidents.