Indian Drivers Protest Against New Hit-And-Run Law
Drivers across India have launched a protest on 1st January 2024 against the increase in criminal terms of 'hit-and-run' cases under the new Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, 2023.
Drivers across India had launched a protest on 1st January 2024 against the increase in jail terms of 'hit-and-run' cases under the new Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, 2023. The new Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, 2023 allows a jail time of up to 10 years and ?7 lakh penalty for culprits of hit-and-run cases whereas the earlier punishment for the same was only 2 years imprisonment under section 304A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The bill for Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, 2023 was passed during the 2023 winter session of the parliament along with the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita, 2023 and the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bill, 2023. These bills have brought major changes to India’s criminal justice system’s by replacing Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure CrPC, and Evidence Act. The Indian drivers had planned to protest by going on a 3 day strike. In some areas, drivers came out on the road and demanded the repeal of the law or a decrease in the punishment which caused big traffic jams. Several local state administrations were on high alert & were monitoring the protests closely. The drivers participating in the strike included truck drivers, private bus drivers, and even government bus drivers in some cases. The protests have led to a full transport system chaos. Many passengers were left stranded at the bus stations in several cities. People were claiming that cab drivers too had joined the protest in some cities on social media. In their protest, the drivers claimed that no one causes accidents intentionally and they are forced to flee the spot as the enraged mob threatens to kill them. The protestors announced that the new law will discourage drivers and put them in fear about their jobs. In one interview, drivers explained the conditions around an accident. They said that a lot of factors are at play and some of them are beyond a driver's control. They gave an example & said that if an accident happens due to poor visibility during fog, the drivers will have to “rot in jail without any fault". The truck owners’ association also claims that regardless of culpability, in the case of an accident, it’s almost always the driver of the larger vehicle who is booked. Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal, Rajasthan and Bihar reported maximum drivers’ protests. The Madhya Pradesh transport unions claim that more than 10,000 private buses, trucks and taxis did not run on 1st January 2024 & 2nd January 2024 and impacted public transport majorly. In Gujarat, more than 40% of commercial vehicles stayed off the roads. Chhattisgarh experienced a significant halt as drivers of more than 12,000 private buses stopped work. Motorists in Jammu & Kashmir complained about non-availability of fuel at petrol pumps due to the strike. More than 70% of the estimated 1.50 lakh trucks, tempos and containers in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) remained off the roads. Around 500 transport drivers called for an impromptu ‘raasta roko’ near Chinchoti on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway (NH48) causing a massive traffic jam for more than four hours. Police officials who tried to restore order were pelted with stones. Chakka jams were also reported on the Sion-Panvel highway, and at Uran and Ulwe where around 40 protesting drivers were threatening motorists to not proceed further. Several videos were sent out by the motorists warning people not to head towards Ulwe because private vehicles were being attacked. DCP Vivek Pansare ordered NRI coastal police to detain the 40 protesters after they refused to allow the traffic to pass. In Delhi, a policeman was attacked with a rod/stick and chased away by the protesting truck drivers.The video of the same has gone viral on social media. However, the strike was called off on the late evening of 2nd January 2024 after a meeting between the Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla & the All India Motor Transport Association (AIMTC). The nationwide drivers protest had led to people indulging in ‘panic buying’ due to the fear of stocks drying up. Many petrol pumps ran out of fuel across the country as people queued up for hours to get fuel supplies. According to the reports, the government has assured the members of the transport association that the new laws have not been implemented yet and will only be implemented after consultation with AIMTC. AIMTC confirmed that the drivers will resume work soon.
