Truckers’ protest: Road ministry suggests online portal to report hit-and-run cases

Road transport secretary Anurag Jain talks about suggestion after protest by truckers over tougher hit-and-run penalty under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which will replace IPC.

Truck drivers blocked the Agra-Delhi National Highway on 1 January as they staged a protest against the new hit-and-run penal provision | ANI

New Delhi: The Union road transport ministry has suggested setting up an online platform where people responsible for hit-and-run accidents can report them, to avoid harsh penal provisions for leaving the spot, road transport secretary Anurag Jain said Friday. 

Jain’s statement follows a protest by truckers over the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, which will replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and seeks to introduce a tougher punishment for hit-and-run cases. 

Section 106(2) of the new law states that if a driver who has caused a road accident by negligent driving runs away from the spot without either taking the victim to hospital or informing the authorities, they are liable to face a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine of Rs 7 lakh.

The jail term was two years in the IPC. The truckers’ main contention is that staying at the site of an accident makes them vulnerable to any ensuing mob violence. 

The truckers’ nationwide agitation was called off after a meeting between representatives of the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) and the Union home ministry, where the Centre assured the former that the rules to implement the BNS have not been notified and the former will be consulted before this is done.   

Addressing a press briefing Friday, Jain said that the provisions for hit-and-run cases under the BNS, 2023, are just but at the same time the truckers’ concern is also valid. 

“They are apprehensive that, if they are present at the accident spot, they will be lynched by the mob,” he added.

Jain said the innovative use of technology can help address this issue. 

“At a recent meeting called by the home ministry, we suggested that one of the solutions can be that a person who has caused an accident can inform the authorities online about the accident and avoid the stringent penal provisions for such cases,” he added. “Once he reports on the online system, it may not be considered punishable under the hit-and-run provision.”

Another suggestion, the road secretary said, could be to have a phone number to report such cases. “But a final call on these suggestions will have to be taken by the home ministry,” Jain added. 

(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)