LHC orders govt to rectify electronic-challan system

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday observed that the electronic challan (e-ticket) system was initiated without proper homework and directed the authorities to resolve the issue.

During the hearing, Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh directed the Punjab chief secretary to bring the lapse to the notice of the chief minister who shall take immediate steps to rectify the issue.

The learned judge made the remarks while hearing a plea by a transporter, who informed the court that around 55 e-challan were issued against him and that he was unaware of them.

The transporter, Falak Sher, implored the court that he had been maintaining a fleet of vehicles and had employed a team of drivers for its operations.

On October 28 last year, he purchased a bus, registration number STT-5010 which was duly transferred in his name by the motor registration authority.

Also read: Lahore man gets e-ticket for his bike stolen eight years ago

On December 10 while visiting the website of the Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA), he learnt that he had been issued e-ticket No 07444605 and fined Rs750 for an alleged traffic violation committed by his driver on November 16, 2021.

When he inquired from the PSCA, he was told that he was liable to pay the fine as the present owner of the vehicle. He was also warned that his bus would be impounded if the fine was not paid immediately.

The petitioner’s counsel told the court that there was no legal sanction for the e-ticketing so the impugned tickets had been issued without lawful authority.

The offender, he added, was personally responsible for it and his liability could not be passed over to a third person – in this case to the owner of the vehicle.

Also read: E-challan recovery misses target

According to him, the petitioner could not be asked to pay for the fine, especially those issued before he purchased the said bus.

On the other hand, an additional advocate general apprised the court that the Provincial Motor Vehicles Ordinance, 1965 expressly dealt with the ticketing system and that the impugned tickets were validly issued.

He contended that the fine had to be paid by the driver or owner of the vehicle, saying any person purchasing a vehicle had to check for any outstanding tickets.

However, Justice Tariq accepted the petition and quashed the e-tickets issued to the petitioner with the observation that it was saddening that the government introduced the aforementioned system without proper homework and provided the required legal framework.