Karnataka truckers join penal law chorus, but undecided on strike

Bengaluru: Private transport operators' associations in Karnataka are up in arms over a new penal law that provides stringent punishment for truck drivers involved in fatal hit-and-run accidents. 

Radhakrishna Holla, president of the Karnataka State Travel Operators' Association, called the law "regressive", but stopped short of calling a strike. 

The recently enacted Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which replaces the Indian Penal Code (IPC), provides for imprisonment of up to 10 years and up to Rs 7 lakh in fines for truck drivers causing deadly hit-and-runs through rash or negligent acts. 

Previously, IPC Section 304(A) treated such incidents as causing death by negligence not amounting to homicide and punished it with up to two years' imprisonment or fine or both. 

The union government says a driver who accidentally hits a person and informs the police or takes the victim to the nearest hospital will not be prosecuted under the law. But this has done little to reassure the drivers. 

"There's a high attrition rate in the driving field. Nearly 30% of driver posts are lying vacant. The harsh law will make the field even more unattractive," he told DH. 

Holla believes existing laws, especially those about drunk driving, can effectively deter errant drivers, if enforced strictly and prosecuted rigorously. 

While the new law has prompted truck drivers in northern India to go on strike, disrupting the supplies of fuel and other essentials, their counterparts have not yet taken any such decision. 

Holla said travel operators from Karnataka would hold a meeting on Wednesday or Thursday and decide the further course of action, including going on strike. 

While the new law has prompted truck drivers in northern India to go on strike, their counterparts here are yet to take a decision.

The recently enacted Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita provides for imprisonment of up to 10 years and up to Rs 7 lakh in fines for truck drivers causing deadly hit-and-runs through rash or negligent acts. DH FILE PHOTO