Gurugram-based Challanwala, an online platform founded in December 2023 for checking and settling traffic challans, recorded a surge in user activity during its Diwali festive offer, with motorists checking and adding 9,32,120 new challans to the platform.
Between November 6 and 8, 2026, users paid ₹40.48 lakh in fines, clearing 3,250 challans through 2,440 transactions.
The Diwali campaign offered users discounts of up to 70% on Challanwala’s platform fee.
For the first time, the platform also introduced a challan gifting facility, allowing users to pay pending traffic fines on behalf of family members or friends as a festive gesture.
Each transaction cleared an average of 1.3 challans, while the average payment per challan stood at approximately ₹1,245.
Several users chose to settle multiple pending fines in a single transaction, often covering more than one vehicle within their families.
Challanwala Data Reveals Most Common Traffic Violations
The festive campaign data also highlighted the most frequently recorded traffic violations, with riding without a helmet emerging as the leading offence.
Helmet-less riding accounted for 81,480 challans, more than twice the number of parking-related violations, which stood at 35,070. Disobeying the orders of an authority ranked third, with 30,720 challans.
Together, these three categories accounted for nearly 1.5 lakh challans, representing approximately 16% of all challans added to Challanwala during the campaign.
Commercial Vehicles Account for the Largest Share of Challans
The platform’s vehicle-wise data showed that goods carriers accounted for the highest number of challans among vehicles with recorded details.
Goods carriers topped the list with 16,810 challans, representing approximately 36% of the recorded total. Cars followed with 12,270 challans (26%), while two-wheelers accounted for 8,770 challans (19%).
The figures indicate that commercial vehicles contributed the largest share of challans in the vehicle categories recorded by Challanwala during the campaign.
Noida and Ghaziabad Lead City-wise Challan Data; Guwahati Enters Top Five
Uttar Pradesh accounted for a significant share of the city-wise challan data recorded on Challanwala.
Noida topped the list with 19,620 challans, followed by Ghaziabad with 14,120. Together, the two National Capital Region (NCR) cities accounted for more than one-fifth of all challans that could be traced to a city.
Guwahati ranked third with 12,440 challans, ahead of Lucknow, which recorded 10,610, and Varanasi, with 7,990.
Guwahati was the only city outside Uttar Pradesh to feature among the top five cities in the platform’s data.
Helmet-less Riding Raises Road Safety Concerns
The high number of challans for riding without helmets also highlights a broader road-safety concern beyond traffic fines.
According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways’ Road Accidents in India 2023 report, 54,568 two-wheeler riders who were not wearing helmets died in road accidents during 2023.
The report also found that 41% of road accident victims were not wearing helmets or seat belts.
Arvind Singhatiya, Co-founder and CEO of Challanwala, said, “Diwali is about clearing out the old before welcoming the new, and we wanted to bring that spirit to something most of us keep putting off: pending traffic challans.
Over 9.3 lakh challans came to light in a single festive window, which shows how many people carry fines they don’t know about or keep postponing. With challan gifting, we wanted to offer a different kind of Diwali gift: a clean record.”
He further highlighted the road-safety implications of the campaign data, particularly the high number of helmet-related violations.
“The data is also a road-safety reminder. Riding without a helmet tops the list by a wide margin, and that is not just a fine. It is a risk to life. We hope that settling a challan also prompts people to change the behaviour behind it. Given the response, we are extending the offer until New Year, so more families can start 2027 without pending challans.”
Challanwala Extends Diwali Offer Until New Year
Following the response to its festive campaign, Challanwala has extended the offer until New Year. The extension is intended to give more vehicle owners and families an opportunity to identify and settle pending traffic challans before the beginning of 2027.
