Shimla : The Himachal Pradesh high court has sought district-wise data on traffic challans pending before courts and asked the high court registrar general to seek suggestions from district and sessions judges on ways to reduce the backlog .




A division bench comprising Chief Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia and Justice Bipin Chander Negi passed the directions while hearing a suo motu public interest litigation concerning the large number of traffic challans pending on govt portals and in courts.




The court observed that around 50% of criminal cases in Himachal Pradesh’s districts were summary cases, with a substantial portion of the pendency arising from traffic challans. The problem is particularly acute in areas witnessing heavy tourist inflow, as many offenders from outside the state do not return to pay their challans.




Taking note of the issue, the bench impleaded the registrar general of the high court as respondent in the matter. The court had earlier been informed that a large number of challans relate to drivers from outside Himachal Pradesh.




The state incurs considerable expenditure serving notices on such offenders for petty offences, with the cost of service in some cases potentially exceeding the maximum fine recoverable.




The court had earlier taken note of the approach Uttar Pradesh adopted to deal with old challans. It was reported that if the state cannot effect service for approximately two years, a proposal can be made to withdraw the prosecution under the relevant legal provisions. However, an affidavit filed by the director of transport stated that Himachal Pradesh was unable to adopt the Uttar Pradesh formula of allowing old challans to lapse without action.




The state reasoned that doing so could send a signal that violations lose significance with time and may embolden habitual offenders. The court said the issue required redressal as the large number of pending challans was clogging the system on both online portals and in courts. The case has now been listed for hearing on Dec 7.