📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Yann Forget
Crime
Hit‑and‑run clause of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita still not enforced two years after enactment
✍️ Hindustan Times
🗓 26 Oct 2026, 12:02 PM
👁 16
Two years after the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was enacted, its specific provision targeting hit‑and‑run cases remains dormant, with no rules or notifications issued for its activation.
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, India’s newly drafted criminal code, was passed with a dedicated section aimed at curbing hit‑and‑run incidents. The provision was intended to impose stringent penalties on drivers who flee the scene of an accident, thereby strengthening victim protection.
Despite the law’s overall rollout, the hit‑and‑run clause has not been brought into force. No statutory rules, notifications, or implementation guidelines have been issued, leaving the provision effectively inactive.
Legal analysts and road‑safety NGOs have expressed concern that the delay deprives accident victims of a swift legal remedy. They argue that without the clause’s activation, perpetrators can still evade accountability under existing, less specific provisions.
Government officials have indicated that the delay is due to the pending preparation of detailed procedural rules, but no definitive timeline has been announced. The situation underscores a broader challenge of translating legislative intent into actionable enforcement.
Until the clause is operationalised, the legal vacuum may continue to affect the deterrent effect of the new code on hit‑and‑run behaviour across the country.
Despite the law’s overall rollout, the hit‑and‑run clause has not been brought into force. No statutory rules, notifications, or implementation guidelines have been issued, leaving the provision effectively inactive.
Legal analysts and road‑safety NGOs have expressed concern that the delay deprives accident victims of a swift legal remedy. They argue that without the clause’s activation, perpetrators can still evade accountability under existing, less specific provisions.
Government officials have indicated that the delay is due to the pending preparation of detailed procedural rules, but no definitive timeline has been announced. The situation underscores a broader challenge of translating legislative intent into actionable enforcement.
Until the clause is operationalised, the legal vacuum may continue to affect the deterrent effect of the new code on hit‑and‑run behaviour across the country.