Hyderabad: BRS MLC Dasoju Sravan has strongly opposed the proposed move to auto-debit traffic challans from citizens’ bank accounts, calling it unconstitutional and a violation of fundamental rights.
In a statement on Tuesday, Sravan said that traffic challans are mere notices of allegation, not proven offences. He argued that an automatic debit system denies citizens their legal right to contest or explain the charge and violates the principle of “innocent until proven guilty.”
Auto-debit traffic challans clash with Constitution and banking laws
Sravan cited Articles 21 and 300A of the Constitution, which protect life, liberty, and private property. “Money in a citizen’s bank account is private property. The state cannot seize it without due process or a court order,” he said.
He also pointed to RBI norms and banking laws, which prohibit any bank from debiting accounts without explicit consent or judicial mandate. Since banking falls under the Union List, Sravan said no state has the authority to impose such a system unilaterally.
Calling the proposal a serious threat to privacy, he noted that accessing financial data for challan recovery violates the Right to Privacy affirmed in the K.S. Puttaswamy Supreme Court judgment. Sravan added that Section 200 of the Motor Vehicles Act gives citizens the right to either pay or contest the challan a choice the proposed system would eliminate.
Terming it “state-sanctioned coercion,” Sravan demanded the immediate withdrawal of the auto-debit proposal and urged the government to uphold constitutional and legal safeguards in traffic enforcement.
Open Letter to @TelanganaCMO
The proposal to auto-debit citizens’ bank accounts for traffic challans is unconstitutional, illegal, and a direct assault on people’s fundamental rights. A challan is only a notice, not a conviction. Every citizen has the right to contest, appeal,… pic.twitter.com/om2TUfjYx7— Prof Dasoju Sravan Kumar (@sravandasoju) January 13, 2026