If a bad road plays a part in causing a fatal accident, cops will deem the driver to be the chief villain. The cops’ reasoning is that if the path is not smooth, the driving ought to be. Earlier, cops used to book people involved in fatal accidents under the Indian Penal Code’s Section 304-A for causing death by negligence.
But now such drivers are being charged under Section 304 for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Section 304 has the provision for the life term and bail is not easy to obtain. At the lenient end of sentencing, time in jail can extend to ten years and a fine can be imposed as well. This section is applicable when a person commits an offence or an act with the intention of causing death, or of causing such bodily injury as is likely to cause death.
Section 304-A, on the other hand, stipulates imprisonment that may extend to two years, or a fine, or both.
Joint commissioner of police, traffic, Ahmedabad city, Mayanksinh Chavda, said that the new norm may persuade drivers to be more careful and to follow traffic laws.
“If a person drives fast despite the awareness that accidents may occur on bad roads, then he or she is liable to face more stringent charges,” said Chavda. “I had in the past applied Section 304 to a person who drove his motorcycle with two persons riding pillion. The section was also invoked to charge a person who was driving under the influence of cough syrup and caused a fatal accident.”
DCP, city traffic, Tejas Patel said that the first such case was filed last week when an 18-yearold girl was hit by a vehicle near the Ahmedabad-Vadodara expressway.
When asked why people in authority are not booked for poor maintenance of roads, Patel said that establishing negligence by civic body personnel or contractors will spur legal issues.
Source: Times of India
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