India, Aug. 27 -- On July 27, eight men in SUVs allegedly assaulted two others with beer bottles in Dwarka after a quarrel over honking. Days earlier, a man was shot near Ajmeri Gate in a similar altercation. In Munirka, another was beaten in late July following the same trigger. During the Kanwar season, trucks with pressure horns blared across the city, rattling eardrums with impunity.

These incidents underline a larger, everyday reality - Delhi's noisy relationship with the horn. Yet, while anecdotal evidence paints a city drowning in sound, official enforcement numbers suggest otherwise.

According to Delhi Traffic Police data, only 57 challans for honking were issued till July this year. That includes just three cars, zero buses, an...