A number of challans have been reported in which a vehicle owner was fined for an unjustified or bizarre reason.
It takes bizarre to a new level when a driver of an Ather electric vehicle is fined by traffic police because he does not have a Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate. An internet sensation has now been born out of the incident. An image of an electric scooter with a challan receipt issued by the authorities was initially posted. There have been a lot of online discussions about the challan photographs since then.
It appears that the Pollution Under Control Certificate for the Ather electric scooter was not issued on demand based on the photo of the challan receipt. A total of Rs 250 fine was imposed for the electric scooter owner under Section 213(5)(e) of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988. An Ather CEO reacted with a sigh on one of the posts.
Electric vehicles do not require pollution certificates. A PUC certificate is only required for vehicles that emit fumes. Fossil fuel-powered vehicles require these certificates. It is even required on fuel pumps in some places, such as Delhi-NCR. Keeping track of a vehicle’s emissions or pollution is important through this certificate.
Considering the environmental benefits of electric vehicles, the Indian government is working to increase adoption of EVs. Further, they are more environmentally friendly than fossil fuel vehicles.
In the past, similar cases have been reported. Car owners have been fined for driving without a helmet in the past. It is often the operator issuing the challan who has entered the wrong reason in such circumstances. Social media gets a lot of attention to these bizarre cases because of their bizarre nature.
