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SC seeks Centre response on reforms to ease burden of pending traffic fines
SC was hearing a plea proposing ‘one nation, one e-challan’ to integrate state-level systems to recover challans
The Supreme Court has decided it will scrutinise India’s unresolved traffic challan burden, which has soared to a staggering ₹28,844 crore, and has sought the Centre’s response on how to evolve a mechanism for the time bound recovery of the amounts pending with transport departments, the traffic police, and the courts.
In an order passed on March 3, made public on Tuesday,a bench headed by justice Abhay S Oka felt the need to examine larger reforms while considering an application moved by advocate Kishan Chand Jain, who proposed a “one nation, one e-challan system” with a view to integrate all the different state-level systems set up for the recovery of challans.
Jain included states as parties in his petition, but the bench, also comprising justice Ujjal Bhuyan, said: “Initially, we issue notice to the Union of India to respond to this application. We grant time of three weeks to the Union government to file a response to the prayers made in the application.”
The matter was posted for hearing on April 4.
Jain told the court that the problem of recovery of e-challans was a pressing concern as the fines, by their very nature, seek to introduce a deterrent against road-safety violators.
According to the Parivahan portal, nearly 320 million challans were issued in the country -- amounting to ₹46,783 crore -- for the period from January 2017 to March 11, 2025. Of these, challans worth ₹17,939 crore have been paid till date, with ₹28,844.26 crore yet to be recovered.
“Recovery of the e-challan amounts is an integral part of electronic monitoring and enforcement of road safety and deserves to be ensured in a time bound manner,” Jain said in his plea.
Pointing out that the Supreme Court has constituted a committee to evolve a national road safety plan, Jain urged the top court to direct the committee, headed by former Supreme Court judge AM Sapre, to suggest an effective mechanism for the time bound recovery of e-challans.
The application highlighted that sometimes vehicles may be registered in one state and the challan is issued when it is plying in another state. Since state governments have their own portals for payment of e-challans, it creates problems for the registered owner of a motor vehicle to pay the penalty, it said.
“It would also be proper for the committee on road safety to evolve and suggest ‘one nation, one e-challan system’ with a view to integrate the interstate systems to effectively e-challan interstate vehicles and to provide holistic solution based on technology,” the application added.
Jain also pointed out that nearly 107.7 million e-challans have been retained by the transport department for more than 90 days, though the Rule 167(5) of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules says that challans have to be transferred to courts for prosecution on the expiry of the 90-day period.
The top court will examine this position on the next date of hearing, along with steps to be taken to spruce by the challan prosecution mechanism in courts.
