E-challan in Delhi: How to check status and pay traffic fines online

The penalty can be paid either offline or online, depending on the facility provided by the city/state in which the traffic offence was committed

The surge in traffic violations over the years has caused an uptick in the number of challans issued in India. According to a report published in The Economic Times, authorities issued over 19.8 million traffic challans worth Rs 1,898.73 cr in 2021. Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, informed the Lok Sabha that authorities issued over 4 million challans worth Rs 417 crore for traffic violations across the country between January 1 to March 15, 2022.

A challan is an official bill issued by the traffic police to those who violate traffic rules and regulations. The amount of penalty the owner of the offending vehicle will be required to pay depends on the nature of the violation.

In order to curb the rising number of cases of road accidents in India, the government of India introduced a CCTV-enabled e-challan system. Traffic officials use a swiping equipment that enables them to issue a printed challan immediately after seizing an offender. The generated e-challan also adds a real-time entry to the servers of traffic police. The CCTV cameras mounted on roads capture the movement of vehicles constantly, while also taking a picture of the offender. The police have to document the violation in their records, along with a picture of the violator from the CCTV footage. The RTO then provides all the details of the vehicle owner, including their contact details, on which the e-challan is forwarded in the form of an SMS.

An e-challan is an electronically generated ticket that is issued to the defaulters. The process was initiated to make traffic services convenient and easy, while also maintaining transparency with the general public. It was also introduced to avoid cash transactions and citizens who indulge in bribery.

With the e-challan system in place, effective and strong monitoring of the traffic violators has now become easy for the traffic police. Citizens can now pay their e-challan either online or offline, depending on the facility provided by their city/state.

Here's how you can pay your e-challan online:

• Go to the official website of transport department in your state

• Click on the link that reads 'e-challan payments' or 'traffic violation payment'

• Click on the violation you are paying penalty for

• Enter your e-challan or vehicle identification number

• If you are paying the penalty by debit or credit card, continue by providing your payment information

• After paying the fine, you will receive an SMS on your registered mobile number confirming the same

• You can also use Paytm to pay the penalty

Here's how you can pay the e-challan offline:

• You can pay the e-challan amount in cash through prosecuting officer of traffic police having an e-challan machine

• You can also visit the traffic police headquarters in your city to pay the challan with all the relevant documents

• You can also opt to pay the e-challan through Cheque/Demand Draft (DD)/Pay order by post or courier