With Centre's new rules, traffic fines to go up again

The penalty for various traffic rule violations, which was hiked multifold by the state government in June, is set to go up further in the coming days as the Union government has notified the Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act, 2019.

The Centre's rules have come in the face of much opposition by various sections of society, including taxi and autorickshaw drivers, who have said the fines are exorbitant and will lead to extortion.

READ: Motor vehicle bill passed, full list of penalties

However, Section 200 of the Act provides the state government the authority to amend the suggested fines and bring them down. Officials said the office of the Transport Commissioner was working on the proposal which will be placed before the state government in the first week of September.

"The state government can reduce the amounts before notifying the rules," he said.

Meanwhile, media reports on the central notification has led to much confusion with some courts levying the penalty under the 2019 Act, even though the state government has not yet enforced the same.

First cases

In India, the JMFC Court imposed Rs 10,000 fine for drunken driving on August 22, with the judge invoking amended Section 185 of the 2019 Act. In Bagalkot too, a similar court had imposed Rs 10,000 fine for drunken driving on August 28.

In Bengaluru, City Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao said the Home department has not received any notification from the state government, which is the competent authority to issue the notification. Once we receive the notification, police will implement the revised fine on traffic violations under the amended Motor Vehicle Act, he said.