Truck overloading: Rs 3.18 crore slapped as fines between Dec and Feb, Kerala HC told

Kochi: The state govt, in a compliance report on a high court directive to take strict action against the overloading of goods vehicles on national highways, informed HC that the motor vehicles department (MVD) had imposed fines amounting to Rs 3.18 crore on goods vehicles between Dec 2025 and Feb 2026.The home secretary's report further stated that 1,165 challans were issued during the period and that a fine amount of Rs 1.56 crore had been collected so far out of the total Rs 3.18 crore. It was also reported that the department of mining and geology had undertaken effective enforcement measures, which, since Dec 2025, resulted in the seizure of 55 vehicles during departmental inspections, seven vehicles during combined inspections, and 22 vehicles during further joint inspections in various districts, including Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Kannur and Kasaragod. The report was submitted in response to a petition by P B Satheesh of Thrissur seeking stringent action against overloaded trucks on national highways.Previously, a bench of Justices V Raja Vijayaraghavan and K V Jayakumar had disposed of the petition, directing the state govt and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to formulate a detailed and enforceable standard operating procedure (SOP) to curb and prevent the recurring problem of truck overloading on national highways and other roads in the state. HC had also directed the state govt on Feb 19 to file a compliance report detailing the steps taken towards the finalisation, publication and implementation of the SOP.The report further stated that the SOP formulated had been circulated to all departments like police, MVD, forest and mining and geology, as well as other field-level enforcement agencies. Instructions had also been issued to ensure strict implementation of the SOP while enforcing the statutory provisions relating to the overloading of goods vehicles on national highways.HC expressed satisfaction with the action taken by the state govt authorities and accepted the compliance report.