New Delhi, October 1, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Supreme Court’s written order on the recovery of pending traffic e-challan dues does not include linking unpaid fines to electricity bills, despite an oral suggestion made by the Bench during the hearing, according to the order uploaded on Thursday.
A Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan had on Monday suggested that authorities could explore adding outstanding traffic fines to electricity bills as a possible way to improve recovery. However, the written order passed that day contains no such direction and instead outlines several measures to recover unpaid dues.
The measures include freezing online vehicle-related services, withholding the issuance or renewal of registration certificates and duplicate certificates, and refusing requests to update vehicle owners’ addresses until pending fines are cleared. The Bench also directed that fitness certificates should not be issued while dues remain unpaid and that vehicles with outstanding challans be blacklisted on the Parivahan portal, restricting their sale and transfer of ownership.
In cases involving multiple violations, driving licences should not be renewed, while steps should be taken to suspend existing licences. The Court also directed that Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates should not be issued until outstanding dues are cleared.
The order further calls for random vehicle checks and states that authorities should take necessary steps to impound vehicles against which e-challans remain unpaid.
The directions were issued in a long-pending writ petition concerning the implementation of road-safety provisions under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989. The Court noted that it had monitored the matter for nearly 14 years, with the present Bench hearing it for more than a year.
Emphasising the need for effective recovery, the Bench observed that issuing large numbers of e-challans would serve little purpose without a mechanism to collect the fines. It noted that states and Union Territories had approximately Rs 49,194.05 crore in outstanding e-challan dues, of which around Rs 26,175.05 crore had been recovered.
The Court directed all states and Union Territories to implement the Standard Operating Procedure issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways on October 28, 2025, and ensure compliance with Section 136A of the Motor Vehicles Act and Rule 167A of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules. The National Road Safety Board was also tasked with monitoring electronic enforcement.
The Bench asked amicus curiae and senior advocate Gaurav Agrawal to prepare a chart detailing previous directions, implementation timelines, compliance status and observations.
It also directed the Delhi Chief Secretary to submit a report on compliance with earlier orders concerning pedestrian safety near the Delhi High Court and the National Zoological Park on Mathura Road. The Court warned that the Chief Secretary may be required to appear personally if the directions have not been implemented.
The matter will next be heard on November 25 at 2 p.m.
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