In India 2024 began with massive traffic jams across many parts of the country. Complaints upon complaints pile on social media about people being stuck in hours-long traffic snarls.
Ambulances remain stuck for long periods of time.
Many returning home for vacation on 1st January 2024, had to go back where they started.
Because Indian truck drivers are on strike.
Truck drivers across the country have call as for a 3-day protest against the new hit-and-run law that has come as part of the Indian Judicial Code, the criminal law code set to replace the colonial-era Indian Penal Code IPC.
Protesting truck drivers have call as the new hit-and-run law draconian, and have point to bias against larger vehicles on the roads.
Truck drivers are oppose to the new law because they claim there is an “unsaid rule of blaming larger vehicles”.
What is New Hit-And-Run Law?
The new hit-and-run law is really Section 104 of the Indian Judicial Code, which establishes the punitive action for ‘Causing death by negligence’.
As per New Hit-And-Run Law :
104(1) Whoever causes the death of any person by doing any rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years, and shall also be liable to fine. 104(2) Whoever causes death of any person by doing rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide and escapes from the scene of incident or fails to report the incident to a Police officer or Magistrate soon after the incident, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.
What is Hit-And-Run Law as per Indian Penal Code (IPC)?
The law covering hit-and-run incidents is describe under Section 304 A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Section 304(A) of IPC | The extant law is describe as follows :
“Whoever causes the death of any person by doing any rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.
