Religious symbols, multiple fonts: Police crack down on faulty number plates

Said another officer, “Delhi Police has deployed additional personnel and resources to monitor and apprehend the violators.” He said that special drives have been started and checkpoints established across the city, with a particular focus on high-traffic areas along with entry and exit points.

Statistics showed the Traffic Police has booked 16,859 violators for defective number plates so far this year, a significant increase from 4,363 in 2023.

Additionally, the Delhi Traffic Police has this year undertaken a thorough analysis of the top 10 traffic circles with the highest number of challans issued for defective number plates.

Said an officer, “The investigation has pointed at the specific regions where traffic violations are most prevalent. By identifying these areas, focused enforcement strategies can be employed to enhance compliance with traffic regulations.”

A senior officer said that number plates are often customised by vehicle owners.

High-security number plates (HRSP) that are damaged due to several circumstances, including general wear and tear, and have not been replaced by the driver, can also be termed as defective. A defective or fancy number plate can also include those that are written in multiple fonts and different colours. Said an officer, “HRSP follows a standardised design, which cannot be tampered with…if any number plate is used instead of that, it becomes an offence.”

A number plate with photos of gods or stickers of a community affixed on it can also come under the fancy category, said an officer.

Officers said that the use of fancy or defective number plates, the challan for which is Rs 5,000 for the first offence, also leads to problems in identifying a vehicle’s owner in case of an offence as the registration number is often not legible, or not written at all.