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BQ Learning: Road Crimes Cops Can Handcuff You For

Met with a road accident? Here’s what you need to know.

Source: BloombergQuint
Source: BloombergQuint

BQ Learning is a special show that seeks to demystify financial markets, economic theories, legal processes and political structures.

In this episode, we explain the relationship between the police and citizens—or, the rights of the common man while dealing with the enforcement agencies.

What Road Crimes Can The Cops Arrest You For?

Over-speeding is the most common crime that can get one arrested, according to Siddharth Shah, an advocate. Lack of proper paperwork can lead to police action as well, he said.

Documents such as driver’s license, registration booklet, owner’s manual, the pollution under control certificate, vehicle insurance and taxation papers should be in the car at all times, he said.

These can be kept in original, photocopy or in digital form. The new Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019 lays down penalties for road crimes—driving without a license or speeding can cost an individual Rs 5,000, driving without insurance will attract a penalty of Rs 2,000, while driving without a seat belt comes with a fine of Rs 1000.

Met With An Accident? Due Process

Recently, the Supreme Court has ruled that an individual who takes a victim of a road accident to the hospital may choose to not appear as a witness in the case, points out former IPS officer Sudhakar Suradkar. Now nobody should be scared and straightaway take the injured person to the hospital, he said.

Shah explained that the first step following an accident must be reporting it to the police station concerned, following which the matter will be registered in the TAD (Traffic Accident Diary). Offences could range from negligent driving to drunk driving to over-speeding, etc. The driver has to be sent for a medical examination which must be performed within two hours of the accident. The police also possesses the right to confiscate the vehicle, he said.

Suradkar advised citizens to collect evidence to prove one’s innocence. Witness statements can be recorded but at a police station “only” and not on personal phones, he said.

Driving Under Influence

Drunken driving now attracts a penalty of Rs 10,000. Causing an accident while under the influence of alcohol will aggravate the punishment, Suradkar points out. One can be detained by the police officer in such a situation, he said, following which the individual is produced before a magistrate who decides the punishment and penalty depending on factors like degree of alcohol consumption and gravity of accident.

Private Vehicles: Alcohol Limit

Citizens need to have a permit to purchase and transport alcohol in their private vehicles, Shah said. While states like Gujarat have an e-permit facility, in other states like Maharashtra, citizens have to get it from the Prohibition and Excise Department. The permit also states the permissible limit of alcohol one can carry when in transit.

BQ Learning: Road Crimes Cops Can Handcuff You For
BQ Learning: Road Crimes Cops Can Handcuff You For

Street Altercations

The offence of affray under the Indian Penal Code allows cops to arrest both the parties indulging in a street brawl and take them to the police station. A citizen so arrested can demand to call a family or a lawyer “immediately” after arrest, Shah said. The duty is, in fact, cast upon the police to inform citizens of their rights after the arrest, he said.

For more, watch the full interview here. For queries and feedback, write in to us at bqlearning@bloombergquint.com.