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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Is it time Parliament debated on a law to punish 'Bad Samaritans'? -Dhananjay Mahapatra

Is it time Parliament debated on a law to punish 'Bad Samaritans'? -Dhananjay Mahapatra

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published Published on Feb 6, 2017   modified Modified on Feb 6, 2017
-The Times of India

At the age of 18, Anwar Ali was the sole breadwinner for his family. Last week, he was hit by a Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation bus while cycling to work in Koppal. He lay bleeding on the road. Instead of rushing him to hospital, most passersby took out their mobile phones to click pictures of the bloodied man.

A morbid, voyeuristic urge to upload heart-rending photos of the victim on social media had numbed their compassion and moral duty to come to the rescue of a dying man. Anwar's grieving mother Ramzanbi found it difficult to understand why no one rushed him to hospital? Anwar was not the first one to die on the roads. Voyeuristic passersby have used mobile phones to click pictures in many similar incidents, unmindful of life ebbing out of accident victims due to excessive blood loss.

Medical experts are unanimous that urgent help extended by Good Samaritans in rushing an accident victim to hospital in the 'golden hour', that is within an hour of the mishap, could increase chance of survival by as much as 50%.

Till recently, most hospitals refused emergency lifesaving treatment to accident victims unless the police registered a case and gave them the go ahead. On the other hand, there was a common excuse available to us passersby - "who wants to get involved in a police case that will entail endless summons from the police and the courts as the investigation and trial drag". This forced Good Samaritans to curb their compassion and moral duty to help accident victims.

Three decades ago, advocate Parmanand Katara had filed a PIL in the Supreme Court pointing out the death of a motorcyclist who was hit by a speeding car. The injured was rushed to a nearby hospital, but was refused treatment by the doctors who termed it to be a police case.

In its judgment [1989 SCR (3) 997], the SC had said protection of Article 21 (right to life) overrode all other obligations and directed doctors that they were morally and legally bound to attend to an injured person and that no authority, including police, could cause hindrance or harassment to them in treating an injured.

NGO 'SaveLife Foundation' in 2012 had filed a PIL in the SC seeking protection for Good Samaritans, who selflessly rush accident victims to hospitals, from harassment at the hands of police and court procedures.

Pressure exerted by the apex court saw the the NDA government issue three anti-harassment notifications in the last three years to protect Good Samaritans. The notifications and the SC orders exempted a bystander or a Good Samaritan from any civil or criminal liability for taking an accident victim to hospital. In addition, it laid down guidelines for police and trial courts to extend dignified treatment to Good Samaritans who volunteer to be witnesses in accident cases. In its final order on March 30 last year, the SC recorded the highlights of the notifications which included reward or compensation to a Good Samaritan by authorities to encourage other citizens to come forward to help road accident victims.

Please click here to read more.

The Times of India, 6 February, 2017, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/is-it-time-parliament-debated-on-a-law-to-punish-bad-samaritans/articleshow/56990849.cms


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