Chandigarh, October 29: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has imposed a cost of ₹2 lakh on four senior Punjab officers, including Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav, for failing to comply with its previous orders regarding modified vehicles running in violation of the Motor Vehicles Act.
Justice Sudeepti Sharma directed that the amount be recovered equally—₹50,000 each—from the salaries of the four officers and deposited in the Punjab Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. The others named in the order are IAS officers Pardeep Kumar, Secretary, Department of Transport; Moneesh Kumar, State Transport Commissioner; and Jitendra Jorwal, Deputy Commissioner, Sangrur.
The court passed the directions while hearing a contempt petition filed by the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Mini Transport Welfare Association Punjab against the state government and others. The plea alleged non-compliance with a 2023 court order directing authorities to curb the “menace of modified vehicles” operating on Punjab’s roads in violation of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
“The court observed that though a last opportunity had been granted to file compliance affidavits and pay a cost of ₹1 lakh, neither compliance was filed nor proof of payment was produced,” the October 14 order stated.
Justice Sharma noted that instead of following the court’s directive, the officers had moved two applications—one seeking modification and another recalling the earlier order. “Both the applications are dismissed being devoid of any merit,” the court observed.
Taking note of the reports submitted by the police and transport department, the court pointed out contradictions and inconsistencies in the figures of challaned and impounded vehicles. “This further reflects the lack of diligence and seriousness on the part of the respondents,” the order added.
The matter has been posted for the next hearing on November 27.
