If you’ve received an e-challan for offenses such as running a red light, triple riding, or driving without a helmet, you can now breathe a sigh of relief. Following the directive from the Yogi government, the court has issued an order regarding this matter.
The Yogi government previously issued an order on this issue, and now the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Varanasi has followed suit. As per the court’s orders, e-challans from the period between 2017 and 2021 will be waived by the traffic department in Varanasi. A government order to this effect was issued back in May. However, if the e-challan was not resolved within three days by the traffic department, it would proceed to court. Consequently, the government order had not been implemented until now.
Even after the government’s order, the department remained silent, considering it a matter for the court to handle. However, the court has now directed the traffic department to remove all e-challans from its portal dating back to 2021. According to the Traffic Department, e-challans for over 11 lakh individuals will be waived for offenses committed between 2017 and 2021, primarily due to low payment compliance and a backlog of pending challans.
On May 19 of this year, the government issued an order to waive all e-challans issued before December 2021. However, these e-challans could not be resolved since May. As the court had the details of all previous challans, the traffic department remained silent. Now, the Chief Judicial Magistrate has directed the Assistant Police Commissioner of the Traffic Department to take action.
The directive states that, in accordance with the government’s order, the court cannot take cognizance of e-challans issued before 2021. Therefore, these e-challans will be resolved through the respective portal. DCP Traffic Prabal Pratap Singh has stated that they will follow the court’s instructions, and the data will be updated on the portal. Information regarding the resolution of these e-challans will also be provided.
In 2021 alone, approximately three and a half lakh e-challans were issued, amounting to fines exceeding Rs 1 crore 18 lakh. This substantial sum of challan fines will now be waived, providing significant relief to those affected.
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