Mysuru City Police vehicle carries Rs. 18,250 traffic fine 

Mysuru: While the City Traffic Police continue to crack down on motorists violating road safety rules, one of the city’s own Police vehicles has accumulated a staggering 71 traffic violations, raising questions about accountability within the Department. 

Official e-challan records show that Police vehicle KA-55-G-0433 (Emergency Response Support System vehicle or 112 vehicle) has been booked exclusively for not wearing seat belts on 71 occasions between July 5, 2024 and June 10, 2026. The violations span nearly 23 months, yet none of the fines has reportedly been paid. 

The accumulated penalty amounts to Rs. 36,500. However, under the ongoing traffic penalty discount scheme, the violator has to pay only Rs. 18,250 if the dues are cleared on or before July 10. 

Of the 71 pending notices, 69 attract a fine of Rs. 250 each for a single occupant (driver) not wearing a seat belt, while the remaining two carry a penalty of Rs. 500 each for both occupants (driver and staff) failing to wear seat belts, taking the total payable amount to Rs. 18,250. 

Yesterday, Advocate Nagaraju Punith shared the details on social media.  

A majority of the violations were detected by the Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS) camera at the Doddagadiyara (Silver Jubilee Clock Tower), with a few others recorded at New Court Complex, Kuvempunagar, Sayyaji Rao Road, J.K. Ground and Udayagiri Circle. 

Police vehicles are not exempt from traffic laws merely because they belong to a law enforcement agency.  

Exemptions apply only when officers are responding to emergencies, such as pursuing suspects, rushing to serious incidents or transporting patients and only when authorised emergency signals, including flashing lights and sirens, are in use. 

In all other situations, Police personnel are required to follow the same traffic rules as every other road user. Traffic cameras automatically generate e-challans based on the vehicle’s registration number whenever a violation is detected. 

As per the prescribed procedure, the responsibility for paying the fine rests with the person driving the vehicle at the time of the violation. 

Road safety campaigners say no one is above the law and that the Police must lead by example if they expect the public to comply with traffic regulations. The case, however, raises an obvious question: When will the Department recover and pay the pending fine? 

Traffic laws apply equally to everyone: DCP 

Speaking to Star of Mysore on the accountability of Government and Police vehicles that violate traffic rules, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime and Traffic) K.S. Sundar Raj said, traffic laws apply equally to everyone and that a violation remains a violation, irrespective of who commits it. 

He said, traffic offences are the result of human error by the person behind the wheel, adding that “The officers or VIPs sitting in the back don’t tell them how to drive.” 

Sundar Raj maintained that drivers of Government vehicles are required to pay traffic fines and said, there have been several instances in the past where they have done so.  

Referring to the specific case of this Police vehicle (KA-55-GO-433) carrying 71 pending e-challans, he said, he would verify the vehicle details and examine the records before taking further action.