Amid the celebration of the New Year, truck drivers were seen protesting on Delhi’s roads. The reason behind this protest is identified against a new “hit-and-run” law. People are confused and keen to know why truck drivers are against this law and what made them show their discomfort with it. Unfortunately, this protest is not only limited to Delhi but is widespread nationwide. It is worth noting that truck drivers have shown their resistance to a recently enacted criminal code which is “Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS). Scroll down to learn about the resistance of truck drivers against this law.
What Is The New Hit-And-Run Law ?
In the wake of rising cases of road accidents, the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) has recently enacted a new “Hit-And-Run” law in which if drivers cause severe road accidents by rash or negligent driving and do not bother to inform the police about the incident or any other official regarding it will face serious consequences such as imprisonment up to 10 years and a fine of Rs 7 Lakh. This law also applies to private vehicle owners. The basic aim of this new law is to reduce the number of hit-and-run cases.
As of now, every year more than 50,000 deaths have been reported due to road accidents. The officials believe that this new law will help the victims who lost their lives due to the negligence of the drivers. Due to that, the penalties under this new law are quite serious compared to the previous penalties made under the Indian Penal Code. Now, the question is why drivers are against this law and why they don’t want to accept it. The main reason behind the protest is the severe penalties that are underlying this new penalty. The All India Motor Transport Congress is naming this law as clear harassment.
What Are The Concerns Of Truck Drivers ?
The main concern of drivers is that the fines are quite high which will lead to financial hardship. According to them, the new law is draconian and a fear of harassment. Another reason is that the new law will develop a fear of the new drivers and they will be afraid to be a part of this profession that will directly lead to a shortage of drivers. Out of these concerns, one of the main concerns is the fake accusations. Drivers believe that the victim might make a false accusation regarding the accident and that will make a driver fall prey and one can be ended in 10-year imprisonment.
This protest has badly affected the distribution and export or import. More than 70% of drivers were protesting which fuel and essential goods distribution. After watching the effects of truckers’ protests, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said that the implementation of the new law will only happen after consulting with the AIMTC. After this statement, the truck drivers finally concluded their protest. The Union Home Secretary has requested protesting drivers and AIMTC to stop the protest and resume their work and highlighted that the new hit-and-run law is still not implemented yet and they will make changes to it.
Speaking about the previous hit-and-run law that was constructed under Section 304A of the Indian Penal Code the accused driver in hit-and-run cases faces non-serious consequences and even the imprisonment is only up to 2 years if a driver is found guilty in this case. Now, this new law creates severe consequences of hit-and-run offenses for drivers and due to that drivers are against it. Let’s see what will happen next but to know that you need to visit this website regularly.