Why is it in the news?

• Transporters and commercial drivers from states like Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, and Punjab are protesting against recent legislation regarding hit-and-run incidents.

New Legislation (Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, 2023)

• Section 106 (2) stipulates a penalty of up to 10 years in jail and a ₹7 lakh fine for fleeing an accident spot without reporting to a police officer or magistrate.
• This law supplements the colonial-era Section 304A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, related to causing death due to rash or negligent acts.

 Reasons for the Protest

• Transporters argue that the law imposes stringent punishment even for unintentional accidents.
• Concerns about the penalty being excessive, not considering challenging work conditions, long driving hours, and difficult roads.
• Drivers argue that accidents may result from factors beyond their control, like poor visibility due to fog.
• Fear that the law could be misused by law enforcement agencies.

Need for the Law

• A response to alarming figures of road accidents in India, with over 1.68 lakh fatalities in 2022.
• Aims to deter drivers from reckless and negligent driving leading to death.
• Imposes a legal duty on the offender to report the incident, enforcing moral responsibility towards the accident victim.

Suggestions

• Advocate for revisiting and reconciling clauses to treat truck drivers and individual vehicle drivers fairly.
• Note the exception for doctors in Section 106 (1), where the punishment is limited to two years with a fine for rash or negligent acts.
• Emphasize the need for graded liability and punishment, separating acts of rash and negligent driving under different degrees of liability.
• Propose alternatives for minor injuries, such as community service, license revocation, or mandatory driving retests, instead of equating them with criminal acts.