Traffic police have started sending court summons to citizens who have not paid their pending digital challans, including those who obtained a new Computerised National Identity Card or a fresh driving licence instead of clearing their outstanding fines. According to media reports, the step marks a firmer approach to enforcing payment on challans issued through digital systems, which have been building up unpaid as many motorists chose to avoid settling them rather than face the consequences.
Traffic police officials explained that the fine on a digital challan doubles if it is not paid within 10 days, and that after this period the challan is transferred to the relevant court. They said many citizens had avoided approaching the courts to retrieve their confiscated documents because of the doubled fines, which left both the penalties and the documents unclaimed. In response to this pattern, police will now send court summons to every person who fails to pay within the 10 day deadline, bringing the matter to the individual directly instead of waiting for the citizen to come forward.
The scale of the problem is considerable. According to police, the number of pending digital challans and confiscated documents has reached nearly 800,000, a figure that shows how large the backlog of unresolved cases has become. The summons will direct citizens to pay their challans and collect their confiscated documents. The inclusion of people who obtained a new Computerised National Identity Card or driving licence suggests that replacing a document does not make an unpaid challan disappear, and that the record of the violation remains attached to the citizen regardless of whether a fresh document has been issued.
Officials warned that those who fail to pay even after receiving a summons will face stricter legal action. The approach links digital enforcement with the court system, giving the police a formal route to pursue payment from defaulters while also offering citizens a clear path to recover their documents once the fine is cleared. For motorists, the practical message is that digital challans carry real consequences, and that paying within the 10 day window avoids both the doubled fine and the prospect of a court appearance.
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