Punjab Government has issued fresh notifications making several serious traffic violations non-compoundable with immediate effect and the notifications have been issued by Department of Transport under provisions of Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 as amended by Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 and according to the notification dated June 17, 2026 dangerous driving offences under Section 184 of Motor Vehicles Act will now be treated as non-compoundable offences which means these offences cannot be disposed of through compounding under notified provisions.
The notification lists several acts that will now fall under non-compoundable dangerous driving offences and these include jumping a red light, violating a stop sign, driving against the authorised flow of traffic and driving a vehicle in a manner that falls far below the standard expected of a competent and careful driver where it would be obvious that such driving is dangerous.
Punjab Government has also clarified that offences related to driving under influence of alcohol or drugs will continue to be treated as non-compoundable offences and these include offences under Section 185 of Motor Vehicles Act which deals with driving by a drunken person or a person under influence of drugs and Section 188 which deals with abetment of offences under Section 185.
The notification also states that these offences had already been removed from list of compoundable offences through notifications issued on July 15, 2022 and the latest notification reiterates that these offences will remain non-compoundable and cannot be disposed of through compounding.
Another important provision relates to underage or juvenile drivers where Punjab Government has stated that offences committed by juveniles or underage persons driving motor vehicles as covered under Section 199A of Motor Vehicles Act will also be treated as non-compoundable offences and such cases will not be disposed of through compounding and the notification states that these changes have come into force with immediate effect.
In a separate notification issued on the same day Punjab Government has also added one offence to the list of compoundable offences and the newly included compoundable offence relates to failure to report the transfer of ownership of a vehicle or change of address within prescribed period under Sections 49(2), 50(3) read with Section 177 of Motor Vehicles Act and for this offence the composition fee has been fixed at Rs 500 for first offence and Rs 1,500 for every subsequent offence.
The notification also specifies that police officers not below rank of Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) will be the competent authority to compound this offence and the new rules are effective immediately across Punjab.