Supreme Court suggests linking unpaid traffic fines to electricity bills

The Supreme Court has proposed a new route for recovering unpaid traffic fines: attaching the dues to electricity bills. The suggestion comes amid concern that existing enforcement, centred on issuing e-challans, has not translated into actual recovery.

According to the court, fines worth ₹20,000 crore remain unpaid across the country. That figure points to a wide gap between the number of challans generated and the money actually collected, with e-challans alone proving inadequate as a deterrent or a recovery tool.

By linking outstanding traffic penalties to electricity bills, the court appears to be looking at a mechanism that reaches offenders through a utility they already pay for regularly. The proposal, however, raises questions about how such a system would be implemented and whether electricity distribution companies would be involved in enforcement.

The court's remarks underline the scale of the recovery problem facing traffic authorities, and its push for measures that go beyond the current e-challan system.