CHANDIGARH, Oct 28 — Police are investigating a suspected misuse of a district court login ID that was allegedly used to fraudulently dispose of traffic challans online, officials confirmed on Monday. A secret FIR has been registered under various sections of the IT Act, though no arrests have been made so far.
The alleged fraud came to light after several challans were found marked as “disposed of” in the system even though they were never presented before the presiding officer. Officials said the receipts generated for these transactions did not match court records.
According to the complaint, unidentified individuals used a court ID to clear challans without authorisation. Police suspect that the login credentials of a court clerk (Ahlmad) may have been misused. “The Ahlmad concerned told us he never shared his ID or password with anyone,” a police officer said, adding that the cyber cell is now tracking the IP address used to access the system.
“The technical team is examining digital logs to determine whether the system was accessed internally or hacked from outside,” the officer added.
The Sector 36 police registered the FIR under Sections 319(2)/318(4) (cheating by personation), 338/336(3)/340(2) (forgery), and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC, along with Sections 66B, 66C, and 66D of the IT Act.
Officials from the National Informatics Centre (NIC), which manages the online court challan portal, are assisting in the investigation. Around 20 unique login IDs have been issued to the district courts, each operated by Ahlmads for updating challan status after a presiding officer decides the fine and payment is confirmed.
Police sources said the incident appears to have occurred several months ago. “If any staff member’s role is found suspicious, they will be called for questioning,” the investigating officer from Sector 36 police station said.
This isn’t the first such case. In September, police arrested two lawyers and another accused in a similar fraud where 11 people were duped of ₹46,900 after being promised their challans would be “settled” through court channels.
