The Delhi Traffic Police on September 1, 2019, the first day of implementation of the new Motor Vehicles Amendment Act, 2019, has issued a total of 3,900 challans.
The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019, was passed by the Rajya Sabha on July 31, 2019, after it was cleared by the Lok Sabha on July 23, 2019. The Bill was introduced by the Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Mr. Nitin Gadkari.
The Act tightens road traffic regulations such as issuance of driving licence, and imposes stricter penalties for violations in an attempt to improve road safety.
As per a report published by The Hindu, the orders have been issued stating that no cash challans should be issued for traffic offences after midnight of August 31, 2019, till a fresh notification of compounding amount is issued by the Delhi government and directions are issued by the Traffic Police HQ.
The order reads that all traffic challans in which documents are seized should be forwarded to a virtual court, while in the case of vehicle seizure with documents, it should be forwarded to the court of Metropolitan Magistrate till further orders.
Delhi’s transport minister Kailash Gahlot said that notification for compounding offences will be issued “soon”, after detailed consultations with all stakeholders.
“Since heavy penalties have been prescribed under the Act after a gap of many years, the compounding notification will be issued after consultation with the traffic police and other stakeholders,” Mr. Gahlot said.
Section 200 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 2019, authorises the Delhi government to issue a gazette notification for compounding of certain offences, indicating as to who will be the person who can compound the offences and as to what would be the amount for which the offences can be compounded.
