HIGHLIGHTS
• A total of 14 traffic offences are compoundable under the amended MV Act
• The list of uncompoundable offences include jumping traffic light, driving against the flow of traffic, drunk driving and juvenile driving
• At the moment, all violators need to go to court to pay fines as most states have not notified the norms
NEW DELHI: As states buy time to notify the 63 sections of the amended Motor Vehicles Act, there is confusion among motorists whether they have to go to court to pay fines for all traffic violations.
To bring clarity, TOI highlights the common offences that can be compounded by paying a fine on the spot to designated officials, and also those that require a visit to the court after a challan is issued. At the moment, all violators need to go to court to pay fines as most states have not notified the norms.
WHAT IS A COMPOUNDABLE OFFENCE UNDER NEW MV ACT?
Section 200 of the Act lays down the offences for which a spot fine is allowed, which means the driver needn’t visit court. The violator can pay the fine to the designated official after the respective state governments notify such officers.
Moreover, the section provides the timing of compounding of offences — before the institution of prosecution and also after institution of prosecution. The Act says offences under 24 categories can be compounded at any stage. For these, the respective state government can notify its own quantum of fine and other penalties.
WHAT IS NOT COMPOUNDABLE?
Rest of the offences under the MV Act are non-compoundable, which means that in all such cases, the violator has to visit court to pay challan. In this case, the state government can’t fix a penalty that’s less than the minimum amount notified by Centre.