Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Striking fear: On hit-and-run accident cases and Section 106 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita

Striking fear: On hit-and-run accident cases and Section 106 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita

Drivers’ strike is a test for severity (कठोरता, उग्रता) of hit-and-run clause in new penal code

The provision in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) that treats hit-and-run accident cases as an aggravated (To make a situation, injury, or offense worse or more serious; to exacerbate) form of the offence of causing death by rashness or negligence (लापरवाही, अनादर) will be the first in the new, yet-to-be implemented code to be scrutinised for its severity. With truck drivers worried about the implications of Section 106 of the BNS abstaining (To refrain voluntarily from doing something; to choose not to vote) from work, the government has promised to bring it into play only after consultations with the All India Motor Transport Congress. However, with the transporters’ body taking the stand that the strike was primarily resorted (सहारा) to by the drivers who feared additional criminal liability (दायित्व), the issue will require tactful (चातुर्यपूर्ण, सूझबूझ से भरा) handling. It has now become an issue that concerns transport workers than those running the business of transportation. It may appear that a strike against a law that makes penal provisions concerning hit-and-run accidents more stringent (सख्त, कठोर) is unjustified, especially in the context of road accidents becoming a leading source of fatalities in the country. However, it has also drawn attention to the question whether there was a case for increasing the jail term for accidents from two to five years in all cases, and to 10, in the case of failure to report them to the authorities.

Section 106 of the BNS will replace Section 304A of the IPC, which punished the causing of death by rash and negligent act that does not amount to culpable (आपराधिक, दोषपूर्ण) homicide. The existing section provides for a two-year jail term. There are three components to Section 106: first, it prescribes a prison term of up to five years, besides a fine, for causing death due to rash or negligent acts; second, it provides for reduced criminal liability for registered medical doctors of two years in jail, if death occurred in the course of a medical procedure. The second clause concerns road accidents in which, if the person involved in rash and negligent driving “escapes without reporting it to a police officer or a Magistrate soon after the incident”, the imprisonment may extend to 10 years and a fine. Drivers flee (भाग जाना, फरार होना) an accident scene out of fear of lynching. In such cases, the authorities seem to believe that such drivers can move away from the scene of crime and then report to the police. The term ‘hit-and-run’ is one in which the offending vehicle is not identified. It must be emphasised that once the person causing a fatal accident is identified, the onus (बोझ, जिम्मेदारी) on the police to prove culpability for rashness or negligence remains the same. Given that many accidents are caused due to poor road conditions too, a relevant (उपयुक्त) question is whether the law should focus on raising prison terms or on a comprehensive accident prevention policy package covering imprisonment, compensation and safety.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.Severity (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - कठोरता, उग्रता
English Meaning - The quality or state of being severe; the harshness or intensity of something.

2.Negligence (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - लापरवाही, अनादर
English Meaning - Failure to take proper care; the state or quality of being negligent.

3.Resort (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - सहारा
English Meaning - To turn to and adopt a course of action, especially an undesirable one, so as to resolve a difficult situation.

4.liability (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - दायित्व
English Meaning - The state of being responsible for something, especially by law; a person or thing whose presence or behavior is likely to put one at a disadvantage.

5.Tactful (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - चातुर्यपूर्ण, सूझबूझ से भरा
English Meaning - Having or showing tact; diplomatic and considerate.

6.Stringent (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - सख्त, कठोर
English Meaning - Rigorously binding or exacting; strict; severe.

7.Culpable (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - आपराधिक, दोषपूर्ण
English Meaning - Deserving blame or censure; guilty.

8.Flee (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - भाग जाना, फरार होना
English Meaning - To run away quickly from a dangerous or frightening situation.

9.Onus (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - बोझ, जिम्मेदारी
English Meaning - Responsibility for something; a burden or responsibility.

10.Relevant (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - उपयुक्त
English Meaning - Closely connected or appropriate to what is being done or considered.

11.Aggravate (Verb)

English Meaning - To make a situation, injury, or offense worse or more serious; to exacerbate.

12.Abstain (Verb)

English Meaning - To refrain voluntarily from doing something; to choose not to vote.