The Supreme Court has directed states and Union territories (UTs) to freeze several vehicle-related online services for motorists with unpaid traffic fines, including renewal of registration certificates, issuance of fitness certificates and pollution-under-control (PUC) certificates, Hindustan Times reported.
The court also ordered authorities to block the sale or transfer of vehicles carrying outstanding e-challans by blacklisting them on the central Parivahan portal.
A bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan added that merely generating thousands or lakhs of would be futile unless authorities could recover the fines.
The court was informed that ₹49,194.05 crore remained outstanding against e-challans issued over a period of time, while ₹26,175.05 crore had been recovered.
The apex court’s direction can have far reaching consequences for motorists. So, here is what can happen if you have not paid your challan/s.
As the SC has directed the authorities to freeze certain online services, the authorities will not entertain requests for following:
Apart from denial of services, these vehicles will also be blacklisted on the Parivahan portal. The SC order further mean that no centre would issue a PUC certificate until pending fines are cleared.
In cases involving multiple violations, the court directed the authorities to suspend renewal of the driving licence and take steps to suspend an existing licence.
The bench also took note of an amended Rule 21(25), brought into force in 2026, under which five or more offences or contraventions under the or Rules within a year constitute an act of nuisance or danger to the public.
The directions form part of a long-running 2012 road-safety case in which the has been monitoring implementation of the Motor Vehicles Act and Central Motor Vehicles Rules for nearly 14 years.
The bench stressed that electronic enforcement cannot end with the generation of an e-challan. It directed authorities to conduct random checks and said that if a vehicle was found to have an unpaid e-challan, necessary steps should be taken to impound it.
The court also directed all states and UTs to implement the Standard Operating Procedure prepared by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways on October 28, 2025, and comply with Section 136A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, read with Rule 167A of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules.
