The traffic police has already acknowledged the vehicle documents, including driving licence, registration certificates, in the compoundable offences. (File)AS amended rules will come into force from October 1 to facilitate the use of electronic enforcement and maintenance of vehicular documents through Digilocker/E-parivahan, a mobile application, experts assert that there is a need to launch an intensive awareness drive about the mobile application in Chandigarh.
The UT traffic police is already following the concept of e-challans, which was introduced in 2019. The traffic police has already acknowledged the vehicle documents, including driving licence, registration certificates, in the compoundable offences. As per the notification, use of the handheld communication devices while driving is allowed solely for route navigation.
Harman Sidhu, a road safety expert, said, “The concept of electronic documents in Digilocker/E-parivahan needs a lot of awareness among people. A layman must be taught about the Digilocker. Indeed, it is a good idea, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic when contact-less communication is promoted. There is also a need of an abundance of e-challan devices with the traffic police through which they can access the details of traffic violators’ documents. If people think that they can pay the fine through e-devices for all the traffic violations without depositing the original documents then they are wrong.”
A traffic police officer said, “Documents in the electronic form through Digilocker are only accepted in the compoundable offences, in which traffic police is authorised to accept the fine. But in non-compoundable offences, in which only judicial courts are competent for accepting the fine, traffic violator has to submit an original document, be it driving licence or registration certificate. And if he/she failed to produce, the vehicle shall be impounded. The concept of Digilocker is very effective in view of law and order nakas, where a cop can merely check the documents on the mobile application for verifying the vehicles not for issuing the challan.”
Officiating SSP (traffic) Manoj Kumar Meena said, “We have already started acknowledging the electronic form of documents through Digilocker/E-privahan since 2019 but in the non-compoundable offences, a person will have to produce the original document. The whole purpose of seizing a document is to ensure the presence of a traffic violator before the judicial magistrate. We are yet to receive the notification from the Central government, which made it effective from October 1.”
The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) recently issued notifications regarding various amendments in the Central Motor Vehicle Rules 1989 requiring implementation of enforcement, maintenance of vehicular documents and e-challans through portal, wef October 1, for better enforcement of MV Rules.
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