Court took action on public interest litigation. symbolic picture
Law correspondent, Patna. A PIL was heard in the Patna High Court regarding the arrangement for settlement of disputes related to issuance of traffic challan in Bihar.
The division bench of Acting Chief Justice Sudhir Singh and Justice Alok Kumar Pandey, while hearing the PIL filed by Rani Tiwari, issued a notice to the Bihar State Legal Services Authority (BALSA) as well as sought a reply from the state government.
Advocate Vikas Pankaj, appearing for the petitioner, told the court that in many states of the country, disputes related to traffic challans are heard and settled through Lok Adalats and Special Lok Adalats.
He said that cases related to traffic challans were resolved by running a special campaign for two consecutive weeks in Chandigarh. Similarly, in states like Maharashtra, Gujarat and Delhi, these disputes are resolved through Lok Adalats.
The advocate argued that traffic challans are issued arbitrarily in Bihar, but there is no effective system of Lok Adalat or special Lok Adalat to resolve them.
Due to this, common people become victims of the alleged arbitrariness of the transport department. He also said that in many cases, payment is made forcibly when the challan is pending and in case of non-payment, even the pollution certificate is not issued.
The petition demanded that the system of Lok Adalat or Special Lok Adalat should be ensured in the state for hearing and settlement of traffic challan disputes, so that citizens can get an alternative and accessible platform. The next hearing of this case will be on March 10, 2026.