From today, traffic cops in Delhi authorised to levy on-spot fines
MOTORIST WHO WILL BE ISSUED A CHALLAN UNDER A COMPOUNDABLE OFFENCE WILL ALSO HAVE AN OPTION TO GET A COURT CHALLAN ISSUED INSTEAD
NEW DELHI: Six months since the amended Motor Vehicles Act (MV Act) came into force, the Delhi government Friday notified the penalties for compoundable traffic offences, clearing the way for traffic police to issue challans which motorists can pay up on the spot.
Transport minister Kailash Gahlot said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government decided not to change the increased penalties prescribed by the central government in the amended law. HT had on March 8 reported that the Delhi government was going to notify the penalties soon. “Around 40 compoundable offences have been notified. To set an example that there will be zero tolerance for those who do not adhere to the road safety rules, our notification also states that enforcement officers violating the MV Act will have to pay double the prescribed penalties,” Gahlot said.
Motorist who will be issued a challan under a compoundable offence will also have an option to get a court challan issued instead. “In case the motorist feels that he/she did not violate any rule or questions the police on evidence, s/he can seek a court challan,” said a traffic police official.
The agencies empowered to impose traffic challans in Delhi are the traffic police and the enforcement officers of the state transport department.
The amended rules came into effect from September 1, 2019. In Delhi, all prosecutions were being issued in the form of court challans as the state government had not notified the penalties for compoundable offences.
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. “Compoundable traffic offences constitute 95% of all traffic offences in Delhi. Since the traffic department was not given compounding powers, all cases were being sent to courts. This increased the burden on traffic personnel,” a traffic officer said. “With the notification, now a lot of staff will be relieved of court duty and will be deputed on the roads for traffic management,” another official said.