Chandigarh, October 29: In a stern rebuke to top Punjab officials, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has slapped a ₹2 lakh penalty on Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav and three IAS officers for failing to comply with its directions to curb modified vehicles plying in violation of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
Justice Sudeepti Sharma ordered that the cost be recovered equally from the salaries of the four officers—₹50,000 each—and deposited in the Punjab Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. The other officials named are Pardeep Kumar, Secretary, Department of Transport; Moneesh Kumar, State Transport Commissioner; and Jitendra Jorwal, Deputy Commissioner of Sangrur.
The penalty was imposed during the hearing of a contempt plea filed by the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Mini Transport Welfare Association Punjab against the state government for not enforcing a 2023 court order on modified vehicles.
“The court had earlier given the respondents a final opportunity to submit compliance affidavits and pay a cost of ₹1 lakh but neither step was taken,” the order said. Instead, the respondents filed two separate applications—one to modify and another to recall the September 2 order. “Both these applications are dismissed being devoid of any merit,” the court noted.
Justice Sharma also flagged discrepancies in the reports filed by the police and the transport department on the number of challaned and impounded vehicles, calling them “material contradictions” that highlight a “lack of diligence and seriousness” among the respondents.
The High Court has fixed November 27 as the next date of hearing in the case.
