Hit-and-run law: Govt to meet truck associations in two weeks to discuss new laws before implementing

Truckers' strike: Buses at Patliputra Bus Terminal

Government will meet truck associations in two weeks to discuss new hit-and-run laws, under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, before they are imposed, the All India Motor Transport Congress Head Malkit Singh Bal said on January 3.

Truck associations have called off the nationwide strike against the new hit-and-run laws, under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita.

Following discussions with Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, the AIMTC has resolved to conclude the nationwide truck drivers' protests opposing the new hit-and-run law.

The government assured the transport body members, stating that the new laws have not been enforced and will only be put into effect after consultations with AIMTC.

The strike had disrupted transportation in different cities of the country, as several wholesale vegetable and fruit vendors at Delhi's Azadpur Mandi said supplies in the national capital can be hampered on Wednesday as vehicles coming from Maharashtra, Kolkata and Karnataka carrying vegetables are stopped at different locations due to truck drivers’ strike.

The new penal actions have raised concerns among drivers and triggered protests across the state, causing heavy traffic jams on the highways and long queues at fuel stations, triggering fears that petrol pumps may run dry by January 2nd night.

The truck drivers have announced a strike against the increase in punishment in the hit-and-run cases under the new criminal code- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

The new provisions prescribe a jail term of up to 10 years or Rs 7 lakh fine if a truck driver flees an accident spot or fails to report the incident to the authorities. In the erstwhile Indian Penal Code (IPC), the punishment for the offense was 2 years imprisonment.

Truckers associations across India had flagged the trend of police usually blaming crashes on big vehicles without any scientific investigation and also how drivers face the risk of mob violence at the accident spot.

The groups also pointed out that the law has been introduced without any consultation with stakeholders, especially representatives from the transport sector.

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita laws were passed in the parliament last week and have been notified by the government as well.

Transport bodies also pointed out that India is currently grappling with a shortage of around 27 percent of drivers in the transport industry and stringent provisions, including a 10-year jail term, have the potential to discourage individuals from entering or continuing in the profession.

Long queues were witnessed at petrol pumps in several parts of India as people thronged them fearing shortage of fuel amid a protest by truck drivers against a provision in the new penal law on hit-and-run accident cases involving motorists.

About 2,000 petrol pumps, mostly in western and northern India, ran out of fuel stocks as the strike by some truckers' associations entered the second day on December 2nd.

While state-owned oil firms had topped up tanks at most petrol pumps across the country in anticipation of the truckers' strike, some petrol pumps in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab ran out of stock due to heavy rush.

Essential supplies of vegetables, fruits and milk was also expected to get affected if the three-day strike is extended or a pan-India movement is launched.