Pending traffic fines: Police issue SOP for impounding vehicles, filing charge sheets

According to the SOP, the police must file charge sheets expeditiously in cases involving non-compoundable offences, which are serious criminal offences that cannot be settled by a court

MUMBAI: With the total amount under unpaid traffic fines crossing ₹700 crore, the traffic police department has decided to impound vehicles and initiate criminal cases against their owners if they continue to ignore pending e-challans. The department recently issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) for impounding vehicles and filing charge sheets in courts against violators.

Mumbai, India - Dec. 13, 2024: Traffic Police using personal mobile to E Challan on bikers at Bombay High Court, in Mumbai, India, on Friday, December 13, 2024. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

According to the SOP, the police must file charge sheets expeditiously in cases involving non-compoundable offences, which are serious criminal offences that cannot be settled by a court. These include driving under the influence and driving dangerously. As for compoundable or non-serious violations, the authorised police officers should accept stipulated fines and compound the cases if the motorist is ready to pay the fines levied through e-challans.

If the vehicle owner refuses to pay the fine levied through e-challans, the traffic police should a file charge sheet against the owner in court, the SOP stated. The traffic police have also been instructed to impound vehicles if they find that the driver or owner doesn’t possess necessary documents like a driver’s licence, registration card, and a permit in the case of commercial vehicles.

“Despite giving several payment options like the MahaTraffic app, the website PayTM, and cash at the nearest chowkie, many motorists are not paying the fines levied through e-challans. We have to put our foot forward in order to recover the amount,” said Anil Kumbhare, joint commissioner of police (traffic).

The Mumbai traffic police organised nakabandis or blockades at 107 spots across the city from 12 am to 5 am on Sunday, during which 28 autorickshaws were impounded because the drivers did not possess relevant documents like licences and permits. The traffic police also checked 6,369 vehicles and registered 1,831 cases against traffic violators. Seventy drivers were also caught drunk during Sunday’s nakabandi.

On Saturday, the traffic police approached the Lok Adalat (people’s court) and recovered ₹17.26 crore in fines from 230,175 motorists who had pending e-challans. This was after the police sent pre-litigation notices to drivers with outstanding fines.

While motorists’ response to e-challans is low, the traffic police has recovered more than ₹500 crore in the past year through five Lok Adalat sessions, officials said. The recovery rate is more than 50% for e-challans issued since 2016, amounting to ₹978 crore, officials added.

“Although the process of sending notices and asking violators to appear before the Lok Adalat is time-consuming, over the years, it has proved to be effective,” said a traffic police officer. The primary objective of recovering fines is to enforce discipline among motorists, which would lead to better traffic conditions in the city and help reduce road fatalities, the officer added.

Meanwhile, many motorists have complained that traffic police officers have been using their personal mobile phones instead of the e-challan machines to click photos and send them invoices when they are off duty. The department is supposed to punish officers who use their personal mobile phones to take pictures.

Responding to the complaints, Kumbhare said, “We also take cognizance of photos clicked by citizens.” If a motorist files a grievance, the department analyses the photo and deletes the challan if it is found that the traffic police officer used their personal mobile device to click the photo, he added.