Gujarat HC Designates Virtual Traffic Courts for Statewide Handling of e-Challans

The Gujarat High Court has recently designated 20 Courts of Judicial Magistrates located across the State as Virtual Traffic Courts, responsible for handling traffic e-Challans originating from anywhere in Gujarat.

Acting Chief Justice Ashish J. Desai issued a Circular, providing guidance and direction for this initiative.

The Circular stated that a recommendation was forwarded to the Government of Gujarat, proposing the designation of several Courts of Judicial Magistrates situated in different parts of the State to function as Virtual Traffic Courts. In response, the government has officially notified 20 Courts of Judicial Magistrate First Class, in addition to the existing one in Ahmedabad.

According to the Circular, the launch of these 20 Virtual Traffic Courts spread across the State will expedite the processing of traffic e-Challans, as they are relatively less burdened with other pending cases. The circular also emphasized the benefits of the remote mode of working offered by Virtual Courts, in line with the implementation by the e-Committee of the Supreme Court of India, enabling more efficient utilization of judicial resources.

Under the directions of the Acting Chief Justice, the High Court’s IT Cell will allocate the daily traffic e-Challans received by the Virtual Traffic Court server to these 20 Courts. The respective Virtual Traffic Courts will then proceed with adjudicating the fine/penalty amounts from their designated locations. However, if a traffic violator chooses to contest the e-Challans, the case will be automatically transferred to the jurisdictional Court where the violation occurred.

This significant step aims to overcome geographical barriers and provide faster access and delivery of justice to all stakeholders. The Circular mentioned that upon the success of this novel distribution of judicial work among the less burdened Courts, there are plans to expand this model to other areas and types of cases as well.

The Virtual Traffic Court, which became operational on May 3, 2023, at the Metropolitan Magistrates Court in Ahmedabad, has already been effectively handling traffic e-Challans for the state of Gujarat. As the e-Challan system is gradually implemented in the remaining districts of the state, the number of traffic e-Challans being transmitted to the Virtual Traffic Court is steadily increasing.