Fines of ₹115 crore still unpaid, Noida traffic police to start seizing vehicles

Officers said any vehicle that has over five fines against it, or fines that have remained unpaid for several years, may be seized soon

With traffic fines amounting to ₹115 crore remaining unpaid, the Gautam Budh Nagar traffic police on Wednesday started a campaign to seize vehicles that have a large number of unpaid fines against them.

Noida traffic police officers fine a vehicle owner for violating traffic rules at Sector 38 in Noida on Wednesday. According to traffic police, over 2.3 million fines are still unpaid, and the amounts vary from a minimum of ₹500 to a maximum of ₹10,000. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

According to traffic police, over 2.3 million fines are still unpaid, and the amounts vary from a minimum of ₹500 to a maximum of ₹10,000. In all, they total about ₹115 crore, traffic police said, adding that they have started intensive checking of vehicles from Wednesday and the drive would continue for 15 days.

Officers said any vehicle that has over five fines against it, or fines that have remained unpaid for several years, may be seized soon.

“We have vehicles that have over 25-30 fines pending against them or those that have multiple fines unpaid in the past four years. These vehicles continue to ply on roads and incur new fines for violations. Meanwhile, the older fines continue to remain unpaid. We will be randomly checking vehicle records and seizing those that have multiple fines against it or several unpaid fines over the years,” said Anil Kumar Yadav, deputy commissioner of police (traffic).

He added that more vehicles are being fined daily now as the integrated traffic management system is functional and it records all offences such as jumping the red light, not wearing helmet and speeding. These online fines are verified by traffic officials before being sent to vehicle owners.

Traffic fines can be paid online on the Parivahan portal or mobile app. There is also a in-person payment window at the traffic police office in Sector 14A. While the traffic police had recently started another window in Sector 37, that had to be shut as there were no takers. Yadav said if there were more people needing the facility, then the second centre would be reopened.

In Uttar Pradesh, ₹1,000 is the penalty for riding without helmet, ₹500 for illegal parking, ₹2,000 for driving on the wrong side and speeding, ₹1,000 for driving without a seat belt and ₹500 for jumping a red light. These are also among the most common offences in Noida, traffic police said.

According to data from the traffic police, a total of 588,345 fines were issued in 2022 alone, amounting to ₹3,07,00,550. Data shows that the top offences last year included riding without helmet, no parking and driving on the wrong side of the road.

Legal experts say police have the authority to seize vehicles in case the vehicle is expected to be involved in a crime or is being used against the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act (MV Act).

“According to Section 207 of the MV Act, police have the power to seize vehicles. Not paying multiple fines can raise suspicions about the vehicle being involved in a crime, based on which it can be seized by police. They can also recommend the seizure of vehicles to the transport authority in case of permit violations and can also refer the case to the court. In such cases, the vehicle owner has to then present his/her case to the transport department or court along with documents and get the vehicle released,” said Nitin Bishnoi, a lawyer in Noida.

Section 207 of the MV Act states, “Any police officer or other person authorised in this behalf by the state government may, if he has reason to believe that a motor vehicle has been or is being used in contravention of the provisions of section 3 or section 4 or section 39 or without the permit required by sub-section (1) of section 66 or in contravention of any condition of such permit relating to the route on which or the area in which or the purpose for which the vehicle may be used, seize and detain the vehicle, in the prescribed manner...”