Alarm bells were raised on Tuesday after the Truck Drivers Protest entered the second day. The Truck Drivers Protest intensified on Tuesday after tempo and taxi drivers joined hands with the truckers in their protest. As a result, many Indian states started to face shortages of fuel and even basic food items. Truck drivers are protesting against the Modi Government over the stringent provisions proposed in the newly passed Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita. Truckers fear that the law is based on heavy and commercial vehicle drivers and therefore to repeal these provisions, they have been protesting against the government. As a gesture of protest, the truckers are not loading any goods including fruits or vegetables. Not only this, the drivers have refused to come to work, and as a result, tankers filled with fuel are not able to reach to various states including Punjab, Bihar, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, etc. Amid the truck drivers' protest, Union Home Minister Amit Shah's video explaining the law around Hit and Run went viral on social media.
In the viral video, Union Home Minister Amit Shah clearly stated that the person who will inform the authorities i.e. the Police or Magistrate regarding the accident, won't face a 10-year sentence. However, if one hits someone and flee from the spot, then in that case the driver will be tried under the new Hit and Run laws i.e. 10 years of jail time and Rs 7 lakh fine. While truckers point out that they don't have such kinds of money and the provision is biased against them, they are demanding to bring back the old laws of hit and run.
What is the New Hit and Run Case?
The Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita introduced the stringent penalties for hit-and-run incidents in India. The law specifies that an accused individual causing a fatal crash and fleeing the scene without reporting to authorities could face imprisonment for up to 10 years along with a fine. Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita has established two distinct categories under the umbrella of "causing death by negligence."
The first category addresses causing death through any rash or negligent act that does not amount to culpable homicide i.e. not intentional. Offenders in this category may face imprisonment for up to five years and a fine. The second category deals with causing death through rash and negligent driving, not amounting to culpable homicide. If the individual escapes without promptly reporting the incident to a police officer or magistrate, they could be subjected to up to 10 years of imprisonment and a fine.
While the law aims to curb hit-and-run cases, there is indeed a lack of clarity i.e. how the drivers will contact the authorities instantly since nearby people will gather around and the drivers will be at risk of facing public anger. Mob lynching in the worst possible case.
Before the provisions were announced under the newly-minted Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita presented by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the parliament, the punishment for causing death by negligence was 2 years under section 304A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
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