The main legal point established in the judgment is the provision for electronic monitoring and enforcement of road safety under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and subsequent amendments, as well as the acceptance of digital documents by the authorities.

JUDGMENT

Satish Chandra Sharma, C.J. The present Writ Petition has been filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India as a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), and the Petitioner has shown serious concern with respect to imposition of fine for violation of various statutory provisions under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and the subsequent amendment to it, i.e., the Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act, 2019.

2. The Petitioner's contention is that the infrastructure in respect of technology for detection of violation of traffic rules is not in consonance with international standards. Further, the same is not standardized throughout the country and no information/minimal information is available with respect to the operation/limitation/errand/challenges in respect of the technology which is being used. The Petitioner has stated that there are various instances where hefty fines have been levied upon innocent citizens on account of faulty equipment and technology used by the Traffic Police, and citizens at large are suffering due to the same.

3. The Petitioner has further stated that in a large number of developed countries, there are well-established standards/rules/guidelines along with monitoring agencies which efficiently monitor traffic violations and implement vehicular law. It has been submitted by the Petitioner that in our country, the technical equipment purchased and deployed to enforce laws concerning motor vehicles is done so without considering any standards/guidelines. Further, several lacunae exist with respect to the manner of functioning of monitoring agencies as well as when it comes to efficient implementation of laws.

4. The Petitioner has further stated that the equipments used to detect violation of traffic lights are sub-standard. They are not based on updated technology, which is resulting in erroneous imposition of fines on the common man.

5. The Petitioner has further stated that the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 was previously amended in 1994 and now has been amended through the Amendment Act of 2019. However, the speed limit violation detection technology, the drunken driving breath analyzing technology and the red-light violation technology are not in sync with the changing times. It was submitted that there is a need for more advanced technology.

6. The Petitioner has further stated that no guidelines have been implemented with respect to the technology relied upon by Traffic officials to detect violations. It is submitted that the same is creating a lacuna in the infrastructure of the system relied upon. It is stated that the lacunae created due to the infrastructure and the subsisting system is leading to an arbitrary imposition of fines upon innocent citizens who in fact abide by traffic rules. It has been further stated that the equipment used by the Traffic Police is neither calibrated nor maintained, thereby resulting in errors in detection of traffic violations.

7. The Petitioner has stated that after the amendment of the Motor Vehicles Act in 2019, it was anticipated that the Amendment Act will provide an efficient, safe and corruption free system in the country. However, the implementation of the same throughout the country has shown that there is an increase in instances of faulty systems for detection of speed violations, red light violations, drunken driving, etc.

8. The Petitioner has filed various reports stating that the challans issued have been recalled in bulk. It is stated that the traffic department had to call back more than 1.5 Lakh challans issued on account of over-speeding on just one highway stretch in the NCR area alone. It has been further stated that in one case, fine to the tune of Rs.2,00,500/- was imposed upon a Truck driver for overloading near Mukarba Chowk in Delhi. It has been further contended that there are no checks on what basis the challans are issued and there is no monitoring agency which can effectively monitor implementation of the statutory provisions under