Soon, no more court challan for traffic offences, pay on-spot challan

Six months since the amended Motor Vehicles Act (MV Act) came into force, the Delhi government is likely to notify the penalties for compoundable traffic offences

Six months since the amended Motor Vehicles Act (MV Act) came into force, the Delhi government is likely to notify the penalties for compoundable traffic offences next week.

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In compoundable offences, traffic fines can be paid on the spot.

Senior officials familiar with the matter said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has decided not to change the increased penalties prescribed by the central government in the amended law.

“On Friday, the Lieutenant Governor (L-G) cleared the Delhi government’s proposal to notify the compoundable offences. The Delhi government has kept the fines of the compoundable traffic offences at the highest slabs as prescribed under the new Act,” a government official said on condition of anonymity.

The amended MV rules came into effect from September 1, 2019. In Delhi, all prosecutions are being issued in the form of court challans since the past six months because the state government had not notified the penalties for compoundable offences.

As a result, the number of prosecutions in cases of traffic violations on Delhi roads also saw a sharp decline of over 35.6% since the implementation of the new Act. From September to December last year, the total prosecutions by the Delhi Traffic Police were 715,000, against over 2 million between the same months in 2018 and 2017, respectively.

Traffic officials said the reason for the fall in the number of prosecutions in Delhi after the amended MV Act cannot be solely attributed to the increased compliance by motorists who, they said, now fear the hefty fines.

“Compoundable traffic offences constitute 95% of all the traffic offences in the national capital. Since the city traffic department has not been given compounding powers by the Delhi government yet, all cases are being sent to courts. This has increased the burden on traffic personnel and at the same time is affecting enforcement,” a senior traffic police officer said.

“If the Delhi government notifies it now, a lot of our staff will be relieved of court duty and will be deputed on the roads for traffic management,” another official said.

Under the amended MV Act notified by the central government, violators have to pay ₹1,000 for offences such as jumping a traffic light, speeding, and riding without helmets. Earlier, the compoundable fines for running a red light or riding without helmets were as low as ₹100, and for speeding, the fine was ₹400 for the first offence. Under the new Act, disrupting emergency vehicles, such as ambulances and fire tenders, will also attract a fine of ₹10,000.

The state governments, under section 200 of the MV Act, have the power to issue notifications for compounding certain offences in which they can even reduce penalties. Compounding of challans under the Act mean settlement between the enforcement agencies and the offender by which the challan is disposed of at the spot after the offender pays the notified fees.

When asked about the delay in issuing the notification, a Delhi government officer said, “We had detailed consultations with the traffic police and other stakeholders on whether the penalties under compoundable offences should be decreased. It was observed that in Delhi, the revised fines seem to have worked since compliance to traffic rules have seen an increase in the past six months as reported by the police. The delay also happened because of the model code of conduct which was in place for about two months for the February 8 assembly elections,” the official said.

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