Higher penalty for hit-and-run: MPs

NEWDELHI:A PARLIAMENTARY PANEL SAYS THAT HITANDRUN CASE CANNOT HAVE THE SAME PENALTY AS RASH OR NEGLIGENT DRIVING

parliamentary panel reviewing the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2016, may consider stricter punishment for those involved in hit-and-run cases in the country that witnessed 1.5 lakh deaths (or 7 every hour) and nearly 5 lakh road accidents (55 every hour) in 2016, one of the highest in the world.

The joint panel for the bill met on Tuesday to prepare its draft report. Some members raised the issue of hit-and-run, saying such a crime should attract more stringent penal provisions.

Members said that hit-and-run case cannot have the same penalty as rash or negligent driving. “In the former, the culprit tries to run away from the crime scene,” Naresh Gujral of Shiromani Akali Dal told the panel.

The bill proposes ~5,000 and jail term for hit-and-run cases, which is the same for rash or negligent driving. The penalty for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is to be increased from ~2,000 to ~10,000.

A report from the Union ministry of road transport and highways, released in September, showed that road accidents had killed 150,785 people across India in 2016 — a 3.3% jump from the previous year when 146,000 road fatalities were reported.

World Bank estimates India loses about 3% of its GDP every year due to road accidents.

The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha last August and was referred to a parliamentary standing committee, whose suggestions the Cabinet endorsed. The Lok Sabha cleared the bill in April next year with some changes, although a consensus could not be reached in the Rajya Sabha in the monsoon session.

The changes included creation of a Motor Vehicle Accident Fund for treatment of injured, compensation to the family of a deceased and compensation to those grievously hurt in hit-and-run cases.

The bill also proposes threeyear jail term for parents of minors caught driving and causing fatal accidents, a tenfold increase in compensation for families of victims, and checking bogus licences and vehicle theft.