East Bengaluru tops drunk driving violations as city records 38,000 cases in 2025

Drunk driving cases in Bengaluru crossed the 30,000 mark in 2025, registering a sharp rise after five years as the city traffic police stepped up enforcement, data shows.

According to the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) data, the police booked 38,919 cases in 2025, a 62.16% increase compared to 2024, when 24,000 cases were booked. The police registered 6,993 cases in 2023 and 26,000 cases in 2022.

Karthik Reddy, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), attributed the rise to increased enforcement of drunk driving checks following an analysis of accident trends. “When we scrutinised the numbers, fatal accidents due to drunk driving were very high. So we resorted to cracking down on offenders,” he told The Hindu.

A. Anoop Shetty, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West, Traffic), added that the sharp rise in 2025 was also due to the December crackdown, during which the police booked over 6,000 cases.

In 2022, the BTP introduced the Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS), which significantly reduced numbers in 2023, as contactless fines were prioritised. However, the police later shifted focus after noticing a clear rise in drunk driving.

East Bengaluru tops the chart

According to ASTraM data, in 2025 (till the end of November), Jeevan Bima Nagar topped the chart with 1,491 drunk driving cases, followed by Bellandur (999), H.S.R. Layout (984), Airport (884), and K.R. Puram (870).

Sahil Bagla, Deputy Commissioner of Police (East, Traffic), told The Hindu that 100 Feet Road in Indiranagar, which falls under the Jeevan Bima Nagar police station, sees substantial violations, contributing to the high numbers. “A lot of resto bars and pubs are located in the area, which could be a reason. In general, there is increased enforcement in the area,” he said.

Another senior officer from the jurisdiction added that many people from Koramangala, after partying, use roads under the Jeevan Bima Nagar jurisdiction to reach east Bengaluru, adding to the violations.

Further, Gopal M. Byakod told The Hindu that Bellandur witnesses a spike in cases during weekends, mostly involving tech professionals.

Prepare for licence suspension in 2026

However, Mr. Reddy admitted that licence suspension remained low, for which a new plan has been chalked out.

In 2026, the police have warned violators to expect suspension of their driving licence if they are caught drunk driving

Usually, first-time drunk driving offenders face a fine of ₹10,000 and spot seizure of the vehicle, along with suspension of their driving licences. To evade suspension, violators often show a photo of the licence on their phone and seek time to produce the original. Despite follow-ups, only a few submit the licence, while others escape action.

Under the existing system, the police must send the original driving licence to the Transport Department for suspension. As offenders resisted submitting their licences, the suspension rate fell below 15% in 2025, despite over 38,000 challans being issued.

To address this, the BTP and the Transport Department, in the interest of road safety, have agreed on mandatory suspension even using photocopies or digital copies of driving licences.

Mr. Reddy explained that the Transport Department has requested the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to equip the Saarathi login, used by the police to determine violations, with an option to display suspended licences.

Accordingly, when the traffic police initiate licence suspension, the Transport Department will upload the details in its database. If violators are caught again and present a suspended licence, officers can verify the status through the application, leading to fresh cases being booked.

The police have adopted strategic checkpoint placement instead of vague planning. Mr. Shetty explained, “A person travelling from Silk Board to north Bengaluru should not face multiple checkpoints, which would amount to harassment. We follow a tactical approach to identify hotspots and enforce the law.”

Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh noted that with strategic and planned enforcement, drunk driving checks would increase further in 2026, and repeat offenders would face hefty penalties.

Published – January 09, 2026 08:01 pm IST