Kerala cops issue fine to e-scooter for not carrying pollution papers, trolled

A fine imposed on an electric scooter owner for failing to provide a pollution under control (PUC) certificate has landed the Kerala police team in hot water, with netizens taking a swipe at it on social media. Images of the vehicle and e-challan issued by the traffic police have been doing rounds on the internet. The challan was issued on September 6 (Tuesday) in Neelanchery, Kerala's Malappuram district.

Cartoq reported that the scooter is an Ather 450X. The snapshots, which are being widely shared on social media, mentioned section 213(5)(e) of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988, adding to a total of ₹250 fine for the vehicle owner.

The police claimed it was a typo, and said the person who rode the electric scooter failed to produce his driving licence.

"He neither had a printed document nor a soft copy of his licence. However, while issuing the ticket, the officer typed a wrong offence number in the machine and a PUC offence ticket came out," a police official was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

In terms of the requirement for a driving licence for electric scooters, he said the two-wheelers must have a registration number. The penalty of not having a driving licence is huge, the police official said.

It is pertinent to note that no pollution certificate is required for electric vehicles. PUC certification is only necessary for vehicles that exhaust emissions. These certifications are essential for vehicles powered by internal combustion engines that run on fossil fuels.

Netizens have appealed to Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari to look into the issue. A Twitter user tagged Ather Energy CEO Tarun Mehta to which he reacted, saying, “sigh.”