Pay online traffic fines pending in Kolkata courts

Pending traffic fines that could be cleared only after a physical visit to court can now be paid online. An online service to enable e-payment of pending traffic fines, a joint collaboration of Kolkata police and the judiciary, was inaugurated on Thursday.

To start with, the police said, traffic cases pending with the Bankshall court — which cover prosecution by citation by the Headquarters, Howrah bridge, South and Jorabagan traffic guards — can be paid online.

The facility will be introduced in the other 21 traffic guards shortly. Lakhs of traffic cases are pending in courts, the police said.

“In the majority of cases, people are averse to physically visiting a court and standing in front of a magistrate to pay the fine. Many hire clerks to do the job but several others keep deferring the payment, leading to a huge backlog of cases,” said an officer of the traffic department.

According to the rule, traffic violations such as jumping signals, speeding and violation of the no-parking rule could be prosecuted by citation, for which e-challans are generated and sent to the registered mobile number of the owner of the offending vehicle.

If a motorist fails to pay the penalty within a certain time period, the prosecution details are supposed to be transferred to the court.

If the penalty remains unpaid even three to four months after prosecution, chances are the court may issue summons to the motorist.

With the introduction of e-court, many will be able to clear the pending fines online, without visiting the court.

“For now, pending fines from prosecutions made by the Headquarters, Howrah bridge, South and Jorabagan traffic guards can be paid virtually before the 4th court, Metropolitan Magistrate, Bankshal court,” said joint commissioner (traffic) Santosh Pandey.