How can a car that was otherwise not in working condition and in police custody for over six years violate traffic rules?” asks Shanti Chheda, who recently received a notice from the District Legal Services Authority, Thane. Chedda, 57, a businessman, said he received a notice (copy with this paper) directing him to be present for a hearing at Lok Adalat, Thane, for two traffic violation cases. According to the notice issued on February 27, 2025, Chedda has been directed to be present before the Lok Adalat on March 22, 2025.
Interestingly, Chheda claims that he is amused to get the notice, as the traffic violation stated in the challan is untrue, as his vehicle was not in a working condition, as per the challan date. Chheda said he received two e-challans of Rs 2000 (Rs 1,500 and Rs 500) for violation of traffic rules for his car, which was not in working condition since 2018, and was released after a court order on July 31, 2024.
Car’s condition before release
Chheda, a resident of Ghatkopar, had bought the car in 2014 under his company’s name—Shree Mahavir Patwa Developers and Construction (Pvt) Ltd. On January 4, 2018, he was arrested in a case by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Thane (Rural), and his car was seized by the police. “The vehicle was in police custody from January 2018 till July 31, 2024, and it was completely damaged. It was not in working condition when I got the vehicle back,” said Chedda.
Advocate Dinesh Tiwari, representing Chheda, said, “It is surprising that a challan for traffic violation gets issued twice—the first traffic violation case was registered at Vithalwadi on February 6, 2023, when EOW had possession of the car. It was kept at the Bhiwandi Taluka police custody, and the second offence was registered at Naupada, Thane, on August 9, 2024, when the said Toyota vehicle was in a garage in Thane for repairs.
Shanti Chheda
Surprisingly, both times, the vehicle was not in working condition, as it was lying unused for over six years (seized in January 2018), and it had to be towed from the Bhiwandi Taluka police station to the garage once the Additional Sessions Court, Bhiwandi, released the vehicle as per the order dated July 31, 2024.”
When asked about the probable causes, he said, “We will soon be writing to the traffic departments concerned in Thane and will also submit our written statement before the Lokayukta, Thane, on the date of hearing. It seems our vehicle number plate has been misused by someone, and whatever the reason may be, a thorough investigation is a must.”
Impact
DCP (Traffic) Pankaj Navnath Shirsath, who earlier promised to inquire into the particular case, said he checked the records. Speaking with mid-day, he said, “We have found that one of the challans was wrongly named to Chheda due to a technical error. It was a truck, which had violated the traffic rule, and due to the similarity in two (middle) alphabets that were similar to the Toyota car (vehicle no. MH04GJ6858) the challan was issued to Chedda. We have rectified this error.”
He added that the second challan was, however, for “wrongful and dangerous parking on the side of a road, for which Chheda has been fined.” Advocate Tiwari, said, “We will submit our written statement in the Lok Adalat, Thane on March 22, and even the traffic police will have to make their submission. We will decide our next course of response accordingly.”
