The SC on Friday reserved its verdict on a PIL seeking protection to good Samaritans who help road accident victims by sending them immediately to hospitals to save their lives.
The SC on Friday reserved its verdict on a PIL seeking protection to good Samaritans who help road accident victims by sending them immediately to hospitals to save their lives. A bench of Justices V. Gopala Gowda and Arun Mishra reserved an order on a PIL filed by Save Life Foundation after ASG Pinky Anand brought to the notice of the court a notification issued by the ministry of road transport and highways for the protection of bystanders and good Samaritans rendering assistance to victims of road accidents. In the last hearing, the court had said that it is not insufficiency of law but implementation of the law which is a concern. It was pointed out that there are different guidelines for ambulance code, emergency care and appropriate directions to hospitals on highways for handling of accident trauma care patients are not being issued.
During the hearing on Friday, the bench noted that even the May 2015 notification lacked teeth as accidents are basically a state law and order subject. It said, “We will pass appropriate directions to convert the notification into a judgment.”
The Centre had issued the notification in the wake of an earlier direction by the apex court on October 29, 2014, directing the Union Ministry of Transport to come out with suitable guidelines to prevent harassment of good Samaritans who often get entangled in legal and bureaucratic complication for merely helping out victims of accidents.
India has the largest number of road accidents in the world according to the data furnished by the Save Life Foundation. An analysis report by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highway which said that during 2014, more than 4 lakh road accidents took place and the same situation was witnessed in the year 2013. The total number of persons killed also increased by about 1.5 per cent from 1,37,572 in 2013 to 1,39,671 in 2014.
As per the notification a bystander or a good Samaritan including an eye witness of a road accident may take an injured person to the nearest hospital and he should be allowed to leave immediately after furnishing his address voluntarily but no questions shall be asked; he shall be suitably rewarded or compensated as decided by the State government concerned to encourage other citizens to come forward to help the road accident victims; he shall not be liable for any civil or criminal liability and he shall not be compelled to reveal his name and personal details if he chooses not to disclose.
In case a by stander or good Samaritan who has voluntarily stated that he is also eye witness to the accident and is required to be examined for the purposes of investigation by the police during trial, such bystander shall be examined on a single occasion.The bench indicated that it will strengthen the guidelines and issue directions to the Centre and all States for proper implementation.
