Watch traffic court officials take a bribe of 5,000 for a Rs. 15,000 fine under new Motor Vehicles Act [Video]

The new amended Motor vehicle Act came into effect on 1st September 2019. While a few states deferred the implementation of the new rules citing various reasons including an increase in the bribes, all the other states and union territories started issuing fines under the new act. With the new MV Act in place and digitization of the fines and challans, it seems like that the system is fool-proof and all the offenders who have broken the rules on the roads won’t escape without paying the full fine. However, news channel CNN-News18 did a sting operation to find out if the system is really fool-proof or is there a way to escape the hefty fines.

The report by CNN-News18 reporter Saahil Menghani shows how the culture of bribes is still an effective way of getting things done by the government authorities. Saahil took a challan of Rs 15,000 to the Ghaziabad with a spy camera. Before that, we walked up to traffic police in Ghaziabad and asked him about the procedure. Later, the cop introduced him to a tout, who gave the contact of a chief judicial court magistrate official.

The reporter then followed the lead and followed the instructions to reach the person and then had a conversation with him regarding the fine. The official can be heard saying that he will charge Rs 5,000 and will get the Rs 15,000 fine waived off without any problem. Later, he also met with a senior advocate, who also claimed that the fine amount can be waived off without any problem but he will have to give a bribe. The incident took place inside the Ghaziabad Court complex.

How it is done?

The person caught in the video can be heard saying that there is no need to submit the fine amount and wait for at least two months. The official also says that the person will receive official notice regarding the payment of the challan but that should be ignored too! According to the report, the cops send the challan and the seized documents to the court after the violators do not submit the fine. These documents can be accessed by the officials seen in the video. They simply take down the challan and remove any record of it. In return, they charge Rs 5,000. It is not known if the bribe depends on the fine amount or it is a general fee that has to be paid by the violators.

This sting operation definitely unearths the facts that the judicial system can be trusted. The report clearly shows the involvement of the highly placed government officials and advocates in taking bribes and waiving off the challans in return. The agenda of imposing a higher fine would not be successful if this is how the judicial system keeps on working. Taking a bribe of a much lower amount and writing off the fines will only encourage people with money to do more of such things. Have you ever faced a similar situation? Do mention in the comments below.