Personal mobile phones can’t be used for e-challans: Sgr traffic court

Idrees Bukhtiyar
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09 May 2026

Quashes five e-challans, raps Traffic Police

Srinagar, May 08: In a significant judgment concerning the issuance of e-challans in Jammu and Kashmir, the Court of Special Mobile Magistrate (Traffic) Kashmir in Srinagar has quashed five traffic challans issued against a Srinagar-based woman, observing that the Traffic Police failed to follow mandatory legal procedures laid down under Rule 167A of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules (CMVR), 1989.

The judgment was passed by Special Mobile Magistrate Shabir Ahmad Malik in a case filed by advocate Ahra Syed, a resident of Madina Bagh, Chanapora, Srinagar, against multiple e-challans issued to her vehicle bearing registration number JK01AU-7078.

The challans, issued between January and December 2025, alleged offences including disobedience of traffic signals, disobeying lawful directions, and driving on footpaths.

The petitioner contested the challans and sought their cancellation, arguing that the Traffic Police had issued them mechanically and without proper evidence. She claimed the e-challans reflected a “revenue-oriented challan regime” where citizens were being penalised indiscriminately through photographs taken without meaningful verification of facts.

During the proceedings, the petitioner argued that one of the challans accused her of violating a traffic signal at LD Hospital Road in Gogji Bagh, where, according to her, no functional traffic signal existed. She further submitted that the challans lacked essential details such as the exact nature of the violation, the presence of stop lines, or evidence clearly establishing the offence.

She also challenged challans issued for allegedly disobeying lawful directions, saying they failed to specify which direction had been violated, who issued it, or how it was communicated.

The prosecution, represented by the Assistant Public Prosecutor, maintained that the photographs attached to the challans were sufficient proof of the offences and that the Traffic Police had acted on genuine grounds.

However, the court observed that despite several opportunities, the prosecution failed to produce any witness or substantive evidence in support of the challans.

In its detailed judgment, the court extensively referred to Rule 167A of the CMVR, which governs electronic monitoring and enforcement of road safety. The rule mandates that e-challans must be generated through officially approved electronic enforcement devices that are authenticated by the government and integrated with the national e-challan system.

The court held that personal mobile phones used by police officials cannot be treated as authorised electronic enforcement devices under the law.

“A personal mobile phone or smartphone does not acquire the character of a prescribed device under Rule 167A merely because it is used by a police officer,” the court observed, adding that such devices lack official authentication, accountability mechanisms and tamper-proof systems required under the law.

The magistrate further stated that allowing challans through personal mobile phones could lead to misuse, fake challans, manipulation of evidence and harassment of citizens.

The court also noted that Rule 167A permits e-challans only for specific offences and mandates that every challan must contain clear photographic evidence, date, time, place of offence, statutory provisions violated and certification under Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act.

Referring to Supreme Court directions in the case of S. Rajaseekaran vs Union of India, the court said authorities must strictly comply with Rule 167A while issuing e-challans.

Finding that the Traffic Police failed to establish that the challans were issued through officially authenticated devices and failed to prove the alleged violations, the court declared all five challans “procedurally defective and legally infirm” and quashed them.

The court also directed Traffic Police authorities to strictly adhere to Rule 167A, ensure that e-challans are issued only through officially authenticated devices and include all mandatory information prescribed under the law.