Journalist fined by Noida Police for not wearing helmet in car while driving

Tushar Saxena, who bought his car in March last year, was slapped a ₹1,000 fine by Noida Police. He said he has never driven his car to the NCR.

In a bizarre incident, a journalist in Uttar Pradesh was fined for not wearing a helmet while driving his car and is now battling to revoke the case.

Over nine months ago, Tushar Saxena received a challan for ₹1,000 fine from the police in Gautam Buddh Nagar district (Noida), 188 km from Rampur, for allegedly not wearing a helmet while driving his four-wheeler, accoring to an NDTV report.

Initially, he thought it was a mistake and ignored it, only to receive a follow-up email and a message.

“I have never driven my car to the NCR area. And if there’s any rule that says we have to wear a helmet inside a car, then the authorities must give this to me in writing,” Saxena was quoted as saying by NDTV.

The police warned him that he would have to appear in court if he fails to pay up.

The Rampur-based television journalist bought his white Hyundai car in March last year. He is now hoping that the Noida Police would cancel the case against him.

In June last year, the Gautam Budh Nagar traffic police issued a ₹1,000 challan to a government school teacher for driving her car without a helmet in Noida’s Hoshiyarpur locality. The woman said that she did not own any bike registered in her name.

Man wears helmet while driving car in unique protest

A similar case was reported from Bharatpur, Rajasthan in 2017, when a man was mistakenly fined for not wearing a helmet while driving his Maruti Omni minivan.

Vishnu Sharma, who was 23 at that time, was stopped by the traffic police on the Agra-Jaipur national highway for checking. A constable fined him for not wearing helmet, he said.