NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court's suggestion that pending traffic e-challan dues could be linked to electricity bills was an oral remark made during the hearing and does not form part of the order uploaded by the top court, which instead records a series of measures for effective recovery of unpaid traffic fines. A bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan, while hearing a long-pending road safety matter, had on Monday suggested that authorities could explore adding unpaid traffic challans to electricity bills as a possible mechanism to ensure recovery of the dues arising from traffic violations.
However, the order passed on the same day but uploaded on Thursday does not contain any direction to link e-challan dues with electricity bills. The order records several specific measures for recovery of outstanding e-challan amounts, including freezing online vehicle-related services, withholding renewal or issuance of registration certificates and duplicate registration certificates, and not entertaining requests for updating the owner's address until pending dues are cleared.
The Justice Pardiwala-led Bench also directed that fitness certificates should be denied until all pending traffic fines are cleared and called for blacklisting of vehicles with outstanding challans on the Parivahan portal, which would come in the way of their sale and transfer of ownership. It further directed that, in cases of multiple violations, driving licences should not be renewed and steps should be taken to suspend licences already in force. (IANS)
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