Relief scheme brings to light 1,656 pending traffic cases in Mysuru

Mysuru: The Karnataka govt scheme of providing 50% concession on traffic fines appears to be a welcome relief for erring vehicle owners, but it also exposes a deeper administrative concern, as several traffic violation cases dating back over three decades remain unresolved in govt records.

Along with the police department, Karnataka transport authorities are offering concession on traffic fines for violations registered from 1991 to 2022 in the transport department.

According to the data provided by District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), as many as 1,656 cases are pending in Mysuru. Of which, 792 cases pertain to RTO (east) and 864 cases are related to Hunsur ARTO division. A total fine amount of Rs 55.1 lakh is pending from vehicle owners.

According to RTO officials in Mysuru, as per the records, cases of departmental statutory action dating back to the 1990s are still pending. Many of these vehicles may no longer be operational, or scrapped, or have been lying unused for years. In several instances, the original vehicle owners may have passed away, yet the fines continue to reflect as outstanding dues in the transport department's database, they explained.

This raises serious questions about the efficiency of the record-keeping system and the lack of periodic reconciliation of pending cases.

Authorities claim that they can't seize vehicles for violations. While notices have been served to the owners asking them to pay the fines, they failed, and hence cases remain pending. All their efforts to serve notice to such owners have gone in vain.

Regional Transport Officer (West) C Vasanth confirmed to TOI that there are still cases undisposed of for decades, and the officer reasoned that it may be because the vehicle may not be in operation and also the vehicles may be in use outside our jurisdiction, and tracing them may be a bit challenging, he explained. Though reminders and notices have been served to the owners, they have failed to pay the fines. Pending cases are related to running vehicle in no-permit region, lapse of registration certificate, defective number plate, using high-beam light, running vehicle without registration certificate and et al.

ARTO Ramachandra said such vehicles on which cases are pending since a long time have been blacklisted, and in case the owners or the user approaches the RTO for any transaction, it prevents further transaction due to
the pending fines.

But the activists questioned why the department failed to do the audit or develop a mechanism to verify the current status of the vehicles and their registered owners and establish a transparent process for closing outdated and irrecoverable penalty records permanently.