Paying a traffic fine usually happens online within 60 days of the violation. If the violator fails to make the challan payment within the stipulated time, the unpaid e-challan is automatically moved to India’s Virtual Court system. How to pay traffic challan in court arises if you miss this deadline.
Further, if the challan isn’t paid within 90 days, the case is escalated to a physical court, and the violator will be summoned for a hearing. In short, an overdue challan ends up in the virtual courts, and you must pay or contest it online before it gets transferred to a regular court.
Here, we are going to cover the complete information on how to pay traffic challans pending in court - the virtual/digital courts.
What are E-Courts?
E-Courts (or Virtual Courts) are part of India’s eCourts Mission Mode Project – a nationwide effort to computerize the judiciary. Essentially, for those looking for how to pay traffic challan in court, a Virtual Court is an online portal where cases (like traffic fines) are processed digitally. On this site, motorists can even view case status, pay fines, or contest challans without visiting a courthouse, in addition to how to pay challan in court.
For example, drivers can check challan online on the official Parivahan portal or via the mparivahan mobile app to see any pending violations. All unresolved traffic challans (those older than 60 days) appear on Virtual Court, where they can be settled as described ahead.
Key Responsibilities
Virtual Courts perform several key functions for e-challans in addition to providing a simplified process of how to pay virtual court challan:
Online settlement of fines: They provide a portal for paying traffic fines digitally.
Contestation: Motorists can contest a challan via the portal. If a user chooses to contest, the case is transferred to a physical court with a hearing date.
Identity verification: The system checks vehicle details for identity verification. For instance, if your mobile number is wrong on the challan, you can do verification via your vehicle’s engine and chassis numbers using official RTO services and databases.
Receipts and notices: On successful payment, the portal immediately issues an e-receipt. If you lose it, you can log back in and reprint the receipt after OTP verification.
Fine reduction: In some cases, the virtual court may automatically reduce the penalty. For example, the overspeeding fine of ₹2,000 has been reported to drop to ₹1,000.
Also Read:- Helmet Laws in India
How to Pay E-Challans Through Virtual Court
If your challan has moved to the Virtual Court, here’s how to pay challan in court online step by step:
Visit the Virtual Court site: The first step in understanding how to pay court challan is by visiting the official website of Virtual Court. Select the state where the vehicle is registered.
Find your case: Enter your mobile number, CNR number, vehicle number, or challan number to search for your pending challans.
Verify your identity: Enter the captcha and verify via the OTP sent to your registered mobile number.
Review the Challan Details: Click on ‘View’ to see your challan details and the fine amount.
Choose to Pay: Select “I wish to pay the proposed fine”. This is a crucial step in the process of how to pay virtual court challan.
Proceed for payment: Verify your details, and then you will be redirected to the payment gateway to process the transaction.
Make the payment: Pay the fine via net banking, credit/debit card, or UPI, after selecting your preferred payment mode.
Get Notified: Upon successful transaction, a confirmation note appears, and a digital receipt is issued immediately.
How to pay traffic challans pending in court won’t be an hurdle anymore with the digital court. By following these steps on the Virtual Court portal, you can settle your traffic challan online without needing to visit any court.
Also Read:- How to File a Complaint Against Wrong Challan
What Happens if the Challan Isn’t Paid Within 90 Days?
If the challan remains unpaid within 90 days, the case get escalated to a regular court. In practice, this means the traffic offender will be officially summoned to a district court for a hearing.
The physical court will then handle the case. In other words, failing to pay an e-challan within 90 days leads to formal legal action in a regular court.
Conclusion
If you are still stuck on how to pay challan in court, paying an overdue traffic fine in court is done online via the Virtual Courts system. In practice, how to pay virtual court challan comes down to logging into the portal and following the e-pay steps above. This is the convenient way to address e-challans promptly within 60 days. Timely payment keeps you compliant and avoids the stress of in-person hearings.