Opinion | Traffic Fines Are Not The Problem; The Process Is

The system is hard to use, but the people who work through it deserve a process that treats them as citizens, not defaulters

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On September 28, 2026, a bench of the Supreme Court, hearing S Rajaseekaran v Union of India, directed the Centre and the states to take sterner action on collecting fines for traffic violations. The concern is well founded. The states have to recover roughly Rs 49,194 crore in e-challan dues, and only about Rs 26,175 crore has been recovered. Fines that go unpaid weaken the deterrent that traffic rules are meant to provide.

Yet for the vehicle owner on the other end of a challan, the question is less about deterrence than about getting through the process at all. Many of those who owe money are ordinary people who made an honest mistake, or who believe a challan is wrong, and who are now facing a system that is hard to navigate.

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The remedies the order endorses are heavy. Owners with pending dues could find registration renewal, duplicate registration certificates and address updates frozen. Fitness certificates can be withheld, vehicles blacklisted on the Parivahan portal, ownership transfers blocked and Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates withheld. Repeat offenders face suspension of their driving licence. Under the amended Rule 21(25) of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, five or more offences within a one-year period beginning January 1, 2026, count toward........

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