Instructions for Challaning Officers

1. A motor vehicle shall be stopped for challaning only on the commission of a visible traffic offence. A motor vehicle can be stopped for checking of documents only under the specific instructions of senior supervisory officers.
2. While stopping the vehicle due care shall be taken that no hindrance is caused to the smooth flow of traffic. The vehicle shall under no circumstances be stopped on the road intersection/rotary.
3. The challaning officer shall walk to the point where the vehicle is stopped and shall first greet the driver and then tell him the reasons for his vehicle having been stopped in polite language. The conversation with offender should be polite and brief
4. The demand for the production of the driving licence and other documents shall be made politely. It is the duty of every motor vehicle driver to carry the original driving licence at all times and produce the same on demand by a police officer in uniform. The production of registration certificate, permit, insurance, pollution under control certificate and fitness certificate can be done within 14 days. In case of failure to produce the driving licence, the registration certificate, insurance etc. the driver shall be challaned under the presumption that the said document does not exist. The driver shall however be informed that he can produce the document alongwith a photocopy for inspection as indicated on the printed challan form. Failure to produce the driving licence shall be charged under section 130(1)/177 MVA 88 instead of section 3/181 if the driving licence is produced for inspection within the prescribed period. Failure to produce the registration certificate, permit, insurance, pollution under control certificate and/or fitness certificate shall not be treated as an offence if the document is produced for inspection within the prescribed period.
5. The challaning officer shall seize the driving licence of the driver under section 206 of the MV Act to ensure appearance of the offender before the Court. In case of failure of the driver to produce the driving licence the registration certificate shall be seized under section 207 of the MV Act. In case the driver fails to produce both documents the vehicle shall be impounded under section 207. No other documents, personal bond etc shall be seized at the time of challaning.
6. In case a vehicle is without registration certificate and has no number on the number plate the Challaning officer shall record the engine number and chassis number of the vehicle on the Challan form.
7. When a driver is challaned he shall be permitted to record his brief comments before signing the challan receipt. In case the driver poses resistance to the challan, the challaning officer shall politely caution him that this shall lead to an enhancement of the penalty under section 179. In case the driver tries to intimidate or influence the challaning officer in any manner the challaning officer shall record the same on the reverse of the original challan form and also inform the Control Room where an entry shall be made in the log book.
8. In case the driver uses abusive language and uses or threatens to use physical violence, the Control Room shall be informed by the challaning officer, which shall in turn call for a reserve officer from the Police Station having jurisdiction for initiating legal action. The nearest traffic interceptor shall also be directed to reach the spot for assistance. The voice recorder & video recorder shall be employed to record evidence of the misbehaviour shown by the traffic offender.
9. In case any physical violence is actually affected upon the challaning officer a criminal case shall be lodged and the SHO shall personally supervise the same.
10. In case the driver wants to lodge a complaint against the challaning officer he shall be politely informed that he can lodge a complaint at the Traffic Control Room number 0171-2550101 and ask for his complaint number. He shall also be informed that he can contest against the challan by appearing in the court on the date and time mentioned by the challaning officer on the challan form. The challaning officer shall promptly give his name and belt number to the driver wanting to know the same.

New Format Challan Book

The Palwal Police has introduced a modified format MV Act challan book that shall facilitate both - enforcement work, as well as, education. The new format incorporates the following features:

• The entire range of traffic offences that need to be curbed along-with the relevant rule/section of law have been printed as a checklist on the challan form. The challaning officer is required to tick mark the offences committed by the offender in each case. This reduces the time taken by the police officer in writing out the challan form.
• The exhaustive checklist serves as a reminder to the officers on enforcement duty regarding the entire range of offences about which they need to be vigilant.
• The form is also educative for the offender as it imparts knowledge about all traffic rules that need to be adhered to.
• The offender gets a neatly printed challan receipt that has minimal manually written content that counters the earlier problem of illegible writing of some of the officers.
• The instructions regarding inspection of documents as well as the procedure for the payment of compounding fee are clearly spelt out for the benefit of the offender.
• The offender is permitted to record his comments while signing the challan receipt. This simple innovation reduces avoidable friction at the time of challaning and introduces greater accountability in the enforcement work.
• This format is more compatible with maintenance of records and data pertaining to traffic challans.
• The instructions to guide the challaning officer are printed on the first page of the Challan Book. The instructions are aimed at ensuring that the challaning officers follow legal procedure in all situations that may arise in the course of challaning traffic offenders.