- I Paid A Bribe
- 12 years ago
- 600 views
We were going from Powai to Matunga, and were looking for the exit…
- Transport
- Traffic Violations
- Paid INR 600
We were going from Powai to Matunga, and were looking for the exit to King's Circle from the Eastern Express Highway. As the boards there for the exits were far from clear, we suddenly saw that we were on to the Sion flyover which meant that our next exit would only be near Masjid. I saw a small opening to the side, and as there wasn't much traffic, decided to move over to the road leading to King's circle at that place. Frankly speaking, that little road looked as good or as bad as many of the narrow parts of the road, so one wouldn't even know that it was illegal. I was pulled over (rightly so, as it was a violation, though it was far from clear that it was a violation). The hawaldar listened to all I said, and then said that they would confiscate my license and that I could get it back from the Dadar court in another 15 days. I told him I was ready to pay the fine in full right there. He first insisted that the fine was a heavy one (1200 Rs). Then he said that they do not have the authority to give receipts. Then he finally said pay 600 and you can leave. As we were already late for some engagement, I decided to pay the bribe.
1. The first travesty here is that it is far from clear that the place I moved into was a violation since there was nothing there at that place. The cop insisted that there were such indications at three places behind. but that still makes no sense that it doesn't say so AT THE SPOT.
2. I cannot believe that the official way is to go to court (on some future date) and till then lose my license, even if I am ready to make the fine payment in full. It sounds like a load of hogwash that Hawaldars who are out to spot traffic violations cannot give receipts for fines there.