Supreme Court floats electricity-bill link for unpaid challans

The Supreme Court of India suggested that states and Union Territories consider linking unpaid traffic challans to electricity bills as one possible way to recover the fines. The proposal was raised by Justice JB Pardiwala during a hearing on electronic enforcement of traffic violations; it was not an order implementing a nationwide system. The court was told that states and Union Territories had about ₹45,000 crore in pending e-challan dues and had recovered about ₹25,000 crore. Those figures were presented during the hearing, according to reports of the proceeding. One account cited a different outstanding total of about ₹20,000 crore, and the supplied information does not reconcile the figures or explain whether they use different periods or definitions. Justice Pardiwala said authorities needed to focus on collecting penalties, not only issuing electronic challans. He suggested exploring ways to attach unpaid fines to other government dues, including electricity bills.