Truck drivers protest: Against BNS, a recent criminal code

Strikes by drivers Maharashtra, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh...

All across the India truck drivers have started their resistance against the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), a recent criminal code.

Truck drivers protested against the (BNS), the new criminal code, which includes heightened penalties for hit-and-run cases.

Truckers labelled the recently introduced legal provision for hit-and-run incidents in the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, which has faced opposition from truckers in various states, as a “kaala kanoon" (black law).

According to the new BNS provision, “Whoever causes the death of any person by rash and negligent driving of vehicle not amounting to culpable homicide, and escapes without reporting it to a police officer or a magistrate soon after the incident, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description of a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine."

The updated provisions now entail a potential 10-year jail term or a fine of ₹7 lakh if a truck driver leaves the scene of an accident without reporting it to the authorities.

The new provisions have triggered strikes by drivers in several states, including Maharashtra, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.