Recently, it made headlines that some states encountered long traffic jams due to driver protests. Furthermore, several transport unions have threatened to conduct a 'Chakka Jaam' across India as part of their protest. But the question remains: Why are the drivers and their unions protesting? Why are the drivers angry with Home Minister Amit Shah?
In a historic move, India replaced major laws. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, will replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita will replace the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), and the Bharatiya Sakshya bill will replace the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. These laws will be implemented across the country.
In the old law, the IPC (Indian Penal Code), 1860, which has now been replaced with The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, contained a provision, 304A: Causing death by negligence - '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.'
In the new Law, the BNS (Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita), 2023 the aforesaid Section 304A has been replaced with the Section 106 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 which provides as under:
106. Causing death by negligence : (1) Whoever causes 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 five years, and shall also be liable to fine; and if such act is done by a registered medical practitioner while performing medical procedure, he shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Explanation.— For the purposes of this sub-section, “registered medical practitioner” means a medical practitioner who possesses any medical qualification recognised under the National Medical Commission Act, 2019 and whose name has been entered in the National Medical Register or a State Medical Register under that Act.
(2) Whoever causes death of any person by rash and negligent driving of vehicle not amounting to culpable homicide, and escapes without reporting it to a police officer or a 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.
Under the old law, the Maximum punishment for causing death by rash and negligent driving was two years which has been increased to 5 Years and Furthermore, in order to tackle 'Hit and Run cases' it has been introduced that if the driver of the offending vehicle escapes without reporting it to a police officer or a Magistrate soon after the incident, he shall be punished with imprisonment of either description of a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Furthermore, under the new law, causing death by negligence has been made a non-bailable offence. In contrast, in the old law, it was a bailable offence, and obtaining bail was a matter of right. After the enactment of the new law, the discretion to grant bail or not will lie with the judge.
It's pivotal to note the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reported a staggering 1.55 lakh fatalities due to road accidents in 2021, underscoring the gravity of this issue demanding urgent attention and this is the reason the new law has been introduced.
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