On A Loose End

Nooria Haveliwala was in the news today because she was driving after drinking and ended up killing two people. Ironically one of them was a bike rider who was being tested for alcohol level. The news report does not say whether they did find any alcohol or not. If not, it is really sad that the poor guy lost his life because of some moron stopping him without reason. Secondly the woman was apparently driving at 120 kmph on a road which is pretty straight. What was the traffic police (five of them) doing? None of them saw the speeding SUV from a distance and made any attempt to slow it down or stop it. How is it possible? Unless, they were too busy harassing the biker and trying to maximize their night duty earnings. I am in no way trying to condone the Girl's act. She was drunk and needs to be punished, not only for being drunk but also for killing people. Do I feel sad for the policemen? Yes, of course. But doing something for the heck of doing it goes much beyond sanity. It is t...

In a recent case in Mumbai, the Traffic Police arrested a co-passenger for abetment after they caught a drunk driver who tested positive and also had alcoholic content more than the permitted limits. The duo were served a fine of Rs 2000/- and a night in jail for the offense. This is the first time that a person was booked and punished for abetting the crime of drunk driving. In this particular case the co-passenger himself was equally sloshed and wouldn't have been in a position to bother much about it. But the precedence has been set and next time someone is found driving drunk, his co-passengers, be it friends, wife or kids also go into the slammer even if they are totally sober or teetotalers. As per the Indian Motor Vehicles act, Section 188, abetting drunk driving attracts the same punishment as drunk driving, A fine of Rs 2000/- and/or Jail time upto six months. So what defines abetting drunk driving? Section 107 of the Indian Penal Code defines it as " A person abets t...