What Is The New Hit-And-Run Law Against Which Private, Truck Drivers Have Launched Country-Wide Protest?

Private and truck drivers are conducting a country-wide protest against the punishment as per the new Hit And Run Law. What does the new law say, how is it different from the old one and how does it affect the drivers, read to know..

New Delhi: The Indian Penal Code (IPC), which is considered to be an outdated, British-era law, has been replaced by the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The BNS was tabled during the Winter Session of the Parliament by Home Minister Amit Shah and recently got the consent of both Houses of Parliament; the law has also got the President, Droupadi Murmu’s assent. A particular section of the law, which deals with the punishments relating to the Hit-And-Run Cases in India, has been in the headlines. The new punishments provisions for hit-and-run cases in India according to the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita are not being liked by the private and truck drivers; a country-wide protest, i.e. ‘Chakka Jam’ is being conducted against the same. What does the new law say, how is it different from the old one and how does it affect the drivers, read to know..

What Is New Hit-And-Run Law?

The provisions with respect to the punishment in hit-and-run cases are mentioned in Section 104 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which has replaced the Indian Penal Code (IPC). According to Section 104(1), a prison sentence of up to seven years and a fine has been mentioned as punishment for those responsible for fatal car accidents not amounting to Culpable Homicide.

According to Section 104(2), the law says, “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 of either description of a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.”

Hit-And-Run Law: Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita vs Indian Penal Code

The new Hit-And-Run Law in the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita is being questioned by the drivers as it is significantly different from the one mentioned in the Indian Penal Code. According to Section 304A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), “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 two years, or with fine, or with both.” The jail term differs by a huge margin in the provisions mentioned in the two laws.

India-Wide Protest By Drivers Against New Hit-And-Run Law

As mentioned earlier, there is a country-wide protest by private, truck-bus drivers across the nation against the jail term mentioned for hit-and-run cases in the new Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita. The protests are happening in different state of India including Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Punjab. As a mark of protest, strikes are being organised and several roads and highways are being blocked; the drivers are demanding reduction of jail term and believe that the law is unfair to them.