E-Challan in Delhi: Everything You Need to Know

Delhi, the capital of India, is also a major transport hub. Due to its close proximity to areas like Noida and Gurgaon, major industrial and residential hubs, it has become a nodal point for road traffic, which has become a concern for the authorities. As per a report by the Delhi Road Crash Fatality, about 1238 people lost their lives in almost 1200 road accidents that took place in Delhi . If you are a resident of Delhi, your Motor insurance policy might financially safeguard you from any extensive damages or injuries you or a third-party might receive in an accident. To make the process of fining offenders easier and digital, which can help in maintaining proper flow of traffic, the concept pf e-challan has been implemented in Delhi.

What Is E-Challan?

E-challan, also known as electronic challan, is the digital version of a challan issued by the RTO. A challan is issued by the RTO authorities if a vehicle owner commits any traffic violations. These violations can range from breaking the traffic signal to causing damage to public property. The fine mentioned in the challan depends on the type of violation a person commits.

Is It Beneficial?

Generally, when it comes to issuing regular challans, human intervention is required. Traffic police posted at major bypass roads or junctions apprehend traffic violators and issue the challans to them. However, there are various drawbacks of this conventional method:

1. Lack of manpower (compared to the number of vehicles present)
2. Errant vehicle owners trying to bully the authorities
3. Risk to the life and well-being of the authorities from aggressive vehicle owners

At times, intentional harm may be caused to the traffic police personnel, especially if the driver/offender is intoxicated or under any kind of stress. In addition, it becomes tough for the authorities to keep a track of the number of challans cleared. To overcome all these hurdles, the E-challan was introduced. It reduces the need for human intervention, makes the process of issuing challans seamless, and maintains a digital record.

How Does It Work?

With the advent of technology, it has become easier to keep an eye on traffic violations being committed. Installation of CCTVs at traffic signals and various locations, usage of drones by traffic police, as well as the usage of speed guns, give the traffic authorities an advantage. For example, if you are found to be exceeding the legal speed limit on a road, these technologies help the authorities spot the violation being committed. Just like how your Aadhar card is linked to your mobile number, so is your vehicle’s registration number linked. The Delhi RTO requires vehicles registered within its jurisdiction to link their mobile number to the registration number of their vehicle. This allows them to send challans directly to your number. These are called E-challans. This also allows them to check whether the E-challans have been cleared by you or not.

Benefits Of E-Challan In Delhi

An E-challan in Delhi has numerous benefits which make it a useful tool for the traffic authorities, and for a vehicle driver as well. Some of these benefits are:

1. Help in maintaining a digital record of the challans which have been issued and cleared, thus allowing the authorities to stay up to date with your record
2. Making it easier for the violator to pay the challans without having to make rounds to their nearest RTO
3. Saving paper with the digital-based process

What Are The Penalties For Traffic Violations In Delhi?

The following is the list of penalties mentioned in the amendments passed in 2019 for the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988:

Offense	Penalty (in Rs)	Penalty (in Rs)
	First Offence	Repeated Offence
Traveling on Running Board (Passengers)	500	1500
Obstructive Driving (Extra Passenger on Driver Seat)	500	1500
Triple Riding on a two-wheeler	1000	1000
Offenses relating to Juvenile	25,000 plus 3 years imprisonment Cancellation of vehicle registration for 1 year Suspension of license until 25 years of age.
Not giving way to an emergency vehicle	10000	10000
Disobey of lawful direction in case of an accident or damaging property	2000	2000
Driving without Permit	10000	10000
Blowing of Pressure Horn	5000	10000
Using horn in No Honking/Silence Zone	1000	2000
Use of Coloured Light on Motor	500	1500
Excess Smoke	500	1500
Tinted Glass	500	1500
Unauthorized Use Siren	500	1500
Violation of Stop Line	500	1500
Violation of Mandatory Signs	500	1500
Driving without Horn	500	1500
Driving Left Hand Drive Without Indicator	500	1500
Improper or Obstructive Parking	500	1500
Driving Without Fitness certificate	5000	10000
Not using Seat-belt	1000	1000
Disobeying Lawful Directions	2000	2000
Driving without Helmet (Rider/Pillion Rider)	1000	1000
Dangerous Goods By common carrier	0	0
Driving Without Licence	5000	5000
Allowing Unauthorised Person To Drive	5000	5000
Use of Hand-Held Communication Devices While Driving	5000	10000
Misbehaviour with Police Officer	2000	2000
Driving Without Insurance	2000	4000
Drunken Driving	10000 6 months of prison	15000 Two years of prison
Over Speed LMV	2000
Over Speed MMV/HTV	4000

  For any of the violations you might commit, the Delhi RTO will send you an SMS on your registered number with the fine amount and the due date for the payment.

How To Pay The E-Challan Amount?

If you receive an E-challan, you can pay it online and offline. Before you pay the challan, check the status first:

1. Visit the E-challan portal on the Indian government’s website of Road and Transport Ministry
2. Select the check challan status
3. Provide your vehicle’s registration number or your license number
4. A list of challans which have been issued for your vehicle/s will be displayed
5. If any challans are pending, you can clear those by selecting the pay option

To pay your E-challan online, you can choose the following options:

Delhi Traffic Police Website

1. Visit the website of Delhi Traffic Police
2. Select the ‘notices’ option and click on the ‘pending notices’ option
3. Enter your vehicle’s registration number or the notice number, which you can find in the E-challan SMS
4. Here you will get a list of pending challans, which you can pay from the website itself

- Tatpar App

If you have the Tatpar app on your phone, which is an app launched by the Delhi Police, you can pay your challans through the app:

1. Register your mobile number on the app
2. After the registration process is complete, select the ‘traffic notice payment’ option in the app
3. Select the ‘E-challan’ option and enter your vehicle’s registration number or the notice number

- Any pending challans can be paid from the app

With the process being cleared above, you might wonder: What if you did not clear them? As mentioned earlier, one of the benefits of E-challans, is to maintain a digital record. Based on this, the Delhi RTO can check the number of pending chalans you may have. If you do not clear your pending challans, the amount for the penalties could increase. If you ignore repeated notices, you might face legal action, such as a short prison sentence. Even if challans are not cleared after the court summons, your license or vehicle registration may get cancelled for an indefinite period. This can cause complications, especially during onlinecar insuranceclaims.

Conclusion

The benefits of E-challan in Delhi are quite clear. If in the future, if you wish to clear any challans, you can do by simply paying for it online. Do remember that any uncleared challans can cause complications for you in the future. For example, if your bike’s registration gets cancelled due to pending challans, it may lead to failure during online bike insurance renewal. Therefore, do take the prevention of receiving an E-challan and the payments involved upon its receival, very seriously.   * Standard T&C apply. Insurance is the subject matter of solicitation. For more details on benefits, exclusions, limitations, terms, and conditions, please read the sales brochure/policy wording carefully before concluding a sale.