Do we need stricter laws for drunk driving leading to deaths after Pune, Vadodara car crashes?

India Today

India has some of the lightest penalties in the world when it comes to deaths due to drunk driving. Why is it so? @virtuallyshreya finds out.

Transcript

00:00What is the price for drunk driving?

00:11In India, seven people die due to drunk driving each day.

00:14But guess what?

00:15The maximum punishment for such deaths is usually imprisonment for two to five years.

00:20The Pune-Posha drunk driving case garnered much media attention.

00:24So has the Vadodara crash that killed one and injured seven in March of 2025.

00:29With eyewitnesses claiming that the accused looked intoxicated and swapped seats behind

00:34the wheel.

00:35But deaths by drunk driving in India are all too frequent.

00:38And these highlighted cases merely serve as a harsh reminder.

00:41Over 12,000 people were booked under drunk driving just in the first half of 2024 itself.

00:47Despite the overwhelming data, the penalty for a death caused by drunk driving is much

00:52lesser than that for killing a person in Indian law.

00:55For many years under the Indian Penal Code, causing a death when you had alcohol exceeding

01:00the permissible limit in your blood was punishable by up to two years in prison or a fine or

01:05both.

01:06But as the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita BNS replaced the IPC in 2024, the penalty for causing a

01:12death by drunk driving has been increased to a mandatory imprisonment of five years.

01:17More so, if drivers do not report the killing under the influence of alcohol to the authorities,

01:22it can result in imprisonment up to 10 years.

01:25Causing a grievous injury while drunk driving comes with an imprisonment of three years

01:28in India.

01:29It is noteworthy that engaging in harmful behavior and non-grievous injuries in most

01:34cases merely attracts a fine.

01:36So why is it that deaths that happens due to drunk driving attracts a much lighter penalty

01:40than murder?

01:41The reason for the lower punishment boils down to the intent of the accused.

01:45Under both the IPC and the BNS, murder can attract a death penalty, while homicide not

01:50amounting to murder is punishable by imprisonment.

01:53In cases of murder, there is a high degree of criminal intent while drunken driving is

01:57often a result of negligence rather than a deliberate criminal intention.

02:01This missing intent contributes to a lighter punishment for drunk driving and is aimed

02:05at reforming the offender.

02:07Meanwhile, the highest form of punishment by Indian law in murder cases is set to act

02:12as a social detriment.

02:14But despite the debate on intent, penalties for offenses resulting from drunk driving

02:18in India are much liberal compared to most countries.

02:21In Australia, for instance, causing a death by drunk driving leads to imprisonment for

02:2520 years.

02:26In most other parts of the world, it is between 10 to 15 years.

02:30Most social studies state that most people in India have admitted to driving drunk at

02:34least once in their life.

02:36India also contributes to 6% of the world's road accidents as per the WHO.

02:40Considering this, do you think we need stricter laws to make public safety more important?

02:44What are your thoughts?

02:45Let us know in the comments below.

02:48Thanks for watching.

02:49Don't forget to subscribe to our channel for more videos.

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