New Delhi: One of the first applied psychologists Walter Dill Scott’s insightful words, “The future of the safety movement is not so much dependent upon the invention of safety devices as on the improvement of methods of educating people to the ideal of caution and safety,” ring true in today’s world where concerns about road safety continue to mount.
The recently proposed legislation in India, known as the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023 aims to address hit-and-run cases with more stringent penalties. For the first time in the country, this law introduces a provision that could result in a 10-year prison sentence for people engaging in reckless driving, fleeing the accident scene, and failing to promptly report the incident to law enforcement.
This new law is intended to replace the outdated Indian Penal Code (IPC) from the British colonial era.
Section 104 (2) of the proposed law stipulates that anyone causing the death of another person through reckless or negligent actions that do not amount to culpable homicide, and subsequently fleeing the scene or neglecting to report the occurrence to a police officer or magistrate, could face imprisonment for a duration of up to ten years, alongside potential fines.
“Whoever causes death of any person by doing any rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide and escapes from the scene of incident or fails to report the incident to a Police officer or Magistrate soon after the incident, shall be punished with imprisonment,” the draft bill read.
Moreover, the legislation proposes an extended prison term for cases where death results from rash and negligent driving not reaching the level of culpable homicide. Section 104 (1) of the Sanhita suggests a maximum prison term of seven years, as opposed to the current two-year sentence outlined in Section 304A of the IPC. Both sections also incorporate provisions for imposing fines on those found guilty.
“Whoever causes the death of any person by doing any rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine,” it read.
Presently, instances of hit-and-run are categorized under sections 279 (related to reckless driving), 304A (pertaining to causing death by negligence), and 338 (addressing endangerment of life or personal safety of others) within the IPC. In exceptional circumstances, charges of murder (Section 302) can be applied.
The existing penalty for causing death due to reckless and negligent driving under Section 304-A is two years in prison.
The Supreme Court lawyer, Rudra Vikram Singh, stated that this amendment might indicate the government’s intention to save lives lost in road accidents. However, before implementing this, the government must strengthen the process of issuing Driving Licenses. Currently, over 80 percent of cases lack a formal driving test before licenses are issued.
“They should also strictly adhere to the directions from the Hon’ble Supreme Court regarding the prohibition of liquor shops near highways,” said Singh.
“It’s worth noting that the Himachal Pradesh Government has already amended IPC 304A and introduced IPC 304AA. This amendment deals with causing death or injury by driving a public service vehicle while intoxicated. The provision states that anyone who, while intoxicated, drives or attempts to drive a public service vehicle resulting in a person’s death (not amounting to culpable homicide) or causing serious bodily injury likely to result in death, shall face punishment. The punishment includes imprisonment for life or for a term up to seven years, along with a fine. This is applicable as if the person committing the act knew that it could lead to death or such bodily injury,” he explained.
A senior police official, who does not wish to be named, said that, as per IPC provisions, in hit and run cases, the person or the accused is arrested, most of the time on the same day, however, the accused gets bail easily in such cases and rest depends upon the court. “Our duty is to produce them before the court,” he said.
In the year 2021, road collisions resulted in the loss of more than 150,000 lives, as revealed in a Ministry of Road Transport and Highways report. The report indicated a cumulative count of 412,000 road accidents throughout the calendar year of 2021, leading to 154,000 fatalities and causing injuries to 384,000 individuals.
The report emphasised that, in comparison to 2019, road accidents registered an 8.1 per cent reduction and injuries saw a decline of 14.8 per cent. Regrettably, however, fatalities saw an increase of 1.9 per cent.
–IANS
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