Amendment in Section 304-A IPC: Due, delayed and still awaited

This form of sentencing, for a country with over 1.3 billion people seeing over 1.5 lakh deaths each year due to negligence, seems to be more than inadequate. The Government must answer, even after decades, why there has been no amendment to enhance punishment under Section 304-A .

driving of automobiles, one of the prime considerations should be deterrence. A professional driver pedals the accelerator of the automobile almost throughout his working hours. He must constantly inform himself that he cannot afford to have a single moment of laxity or inattentiveness when his leg is on the pedal of a vehicle in locomotion. He cannot and should not take a chance thinking that a rash driving need not necessarily cause any accident; or even if any accident occurs it need not necessarily result in the death of any human being; or even if such death ensues he might not be convicted of the offence; and lastly, that even if he is convicted he would be dealt with leniently by the court. He must always keep in his mind the fear psyche that if he is convicted of the offence for causing death of a human being due to his callous driving of the vehicle he cannot escape from a jail sentence.”

In addition to the above and many other cases where the top court has shown urgency to amend Section 304-A, the urgency is also reflected from the National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs annual publication of “Accidental Death and Suicides in India” report pertaining to the year 2018. In this report dated 23rd December 2019, it was confirmed that during 2018, a total of 4, 45, 514 cases of road accidents were reported which rendered 1, 52, 780 deaths. The numbers remained more or less same for the preceding years as per NCRB. Despite the number of deaths, the State has failed to act reasonably, much less swiftly. The sections is bailable and invariably the accused is granted bail immediately. Even if the accused is convicted by the Magistrate court, the convict has two appeals before going to the Supreme Court during which appeals invariably the sentence is suspended. The appeals incur inordinate delays and the accused roams freely while the families of the victims continue to suffer.

Keeping in mind the report of NCRB, it will not be wrong to say that the country is witnessing over 1.5 lakhs road deaths due to negligence and despite courts favouring amendment in Section 304-A for over two decades or even more, the amendment has not seen light of the day yet.

Among others, the following Bills proposing amendments to Section 304A were introduced in either the Rajya Sabha or the Lok Sabha but till date the law of “upto 2 years imprisonment or fine or both” remains the law:

30th November 2007, a bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha proposing “imprisonment upto three years and fine upto one lakh rupees”. This bill also proposed to make the section non-bailable.

24th April 2015, a Bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha, where it proposed punishment of “upto 5 years imprisonment or with fine not less than 50,000 or with both”.

25th October 2016, another bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha proposing punishment of “upto 10 years imprisonment and with fine upto 5 lakhs”.

4th June 2019, yet another bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha proposing punishment of “upto seven years imprisonment or fine not less than 75,000 or both”.

It is interesting to see that the bill of 2019 proposed “imprisonment or fine” while the earlier bills of 2007 and 2016 proposed “imprisonment and fine”. Nevertheless, these bills remained on paper and did not enter the statute book. On one hand, the Government, for one reason or the other, have not been able to carry out amendment in Section 304-A for decades and on the other hand it has, hurriedly, brought new Acts in the statute books to tackle financial crimes, which Acts are already facing constitutional challenges in the court of law.

In the era of economic frauds, need to address the issue of deaths due to negligence seems to have lost its place. “Jaan hai to jahaan hai”, the country has been hearing this phrase. Does it not apply to the lives we are losing due to negligent acts of others (keeping in mind we are seeing over 1.5 lakhs death every year)?

The Government is finding the vaccine to curb deaths due to pandemic and rightly so but what about the vaccine to curb lakhs of innocent deaths each year due to negligence of others. Due to the present “lenient sentencing” under Section 304-A (provides for maximum two years imprisonment , or with fine, or with both), we have seen that convicts invariably get even more leniency or no jail at all and get away with only fine. This form of sentencing, for a country with over 1.3 billion people seeing over 1.5 lakhs deaths each year due to negligence, seems to be more than inadequate. The Government must answer, even after decades, why there has been no amendment to enhance punishment under Section 304-A despite knowing the statistics published by NCRB, despite knowing the kind of sentences being awarded to the convicts, despite knowing the leniency in bail under 304-A and despite knowing the observations made by courts time and again. Why has there been such a laxity for decades and yet no one talks about it anymore. It appears that the country is more concerned with the economic frauds than the life lost in a road accident, invariably of a poor person, who has a whole family dependent upon him. This appears to have become a new normal. Speaking of economic frauds, it will not be out of the place to mention that the government, on the contrary, acted swiftly, introduced & passed Bill and consequently the Motor Vehicles Amendment Act, 2019 was brought in whereby monetary penalties have been enhanced. It is to be seen, how much such monetary enhanced penalties act as a deterrence for the drivers behind the steering wheel who many a times belong to affluent families. Time has come to relook Section 304-A of the IPC urgently in letter and spirit.

Rohan Garg is an advocate practising at the Delhi High Court and Supreme Court. He is Partner, Fox Mondal & Co., He is L.L.M (Utrecht University)