Quiet enforcement for a loud problem

WHY PROSECUTION REMAINS PATCHY

- Hemani Bhandari

On July 27, eight men in SUVs allegedly assaulted two others with beer bottles in Dwarka following a quarrel over honking. This incident is not isolated—days earlier, a man was shot near Ajmeri Gate in a similar altercation, and in late July, another was beaten in Munirka under comparable circumstances. During the recent Kanwar season, trucks fitted with pressure horns blared across the city, amplifying a pervasive issue: Delhi's toxic relationship with the horn.

Despite numerous anecdotal accounts of noise pollution, official enforcement data tells a different story.

Delhi Traffic Police records reveal only 57 challans for honking were issued until July this year— a figure that includes just three cars, zero buses, and 25 two-wheelers. Although this marks a 103% increase from the same period in 2023, when 28 challans were recorded, the overall trend shows a decline. Prosecutions for honking peaked at 336 in 2020 but dropped to 45 in 2023 and 48 in 2024.

Similarly, challans for pressure horns—banned in Delhi—have plummeted from 3,633 in 2020 to 1,652 till July this year.