Centre Amends Motor Vehicles Rules For Protection Of 'Good Samaritans' [Read Notification]

The Central Government has notified amendment to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 which inserts Chapter IX to deal with examination of Good Samaritan and Enquiry.

"Good Samaritan", as per Section 134A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 198, is a person, who in good faith, voluntarily and without expectation of any reward or compensation renders emergency medical or non-medical care or assistance at the scene of an accident to the victim or transports such victim to the hospital. As per the said provision, such a Good Samaritan shall not be liable for any civil or criminal action for any injury to or death of the victim of an accident involving a motor vehicle, where such injury or death resulted from the Good Samaritan's negligence in acting or failing to act while rendering emergency medical or non-medical care or assistance.

The provision empowers the Central Government to make Rules to provide for the procedure for questioning or examination of the Good Samaritan, disclosure of personal information of the Good Samaritan and such other related matters.

The draft of the Rules were published in the notification dated the 26th February, 2020. On Monday (29th September), the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has notified the Rules.

Rights of Good Samaritan

The said Rules deals with rights of Good Samaritan:

1. A Good Samaritan shall be treated respectfully without any discrimination on the grounds of religion, nationality, caste or sex.
2. A Good Samaritan who has informed the police of any accident involving a motor vehicle, or who has transported a victim of an accident involving a motor vehicle to the hospital, shall not be subjected to any further requirements by the police or the hospital, and shall be permitted to leave immediately.
3. No police officer or any other person, shall compel a Good Samaritan to disclose his name, identity, address or any such other personal details: Provided that the Good Samaritan may voluntarily choose to disclose his name, address, and name of the injured person (if known) to the police officer: Provided further that, if the Good Samaritan has voluntarily disclosed his name or personal details, the police officer shall not compel such person to become an eye-witness in the case, and choice of becoming an eye-witness shall solely rest with the Good Samaritan.
4. A Good Samaritan who transports a victim of an accident involving a motor vehicle to the hospital shall not be forced to, (a) disclose any personal information, such as his name, telephone number and address, including for the purpose of the Medico-Legal Case Form; (b) fulfil any procedure related to the admission of an injured person or victim at the hospital; or (c) bear any medical expenses towards the treatment of an injured person or victim: Provided that in case the Good Samaritan has volunteered his name, and if he so desires, the hospital shall provide an acknowledgement to such Good Samaritan, on official letter-pad, mentioning the name of the Good Samaritan, address, time, date, place of occurrence, and confirming that the injured person was brought by the said person: Provided further that, a Good Samaritan who has witnessed the accident and volunteers to become an eye-witness may, in addition to his name and address, also indicate his willingness to become an eye-witness in order to facilitate the investigation process. 
5. Every public and private hospital shall publish a charter in Hindi, English and vernacular language, at the entrance or other conspicuous location, and on their website, stating the rights of Good Samaritans under the Act and the rules made thereunder.

Examination of Good Samaritan 

1. If a person has voluntarily agreed to become a witness in the case in which he has acted as a Good Samaritan, he shall be examined in accordance with the provisions of this rule.
   
2. The examination of a Good Samaritan shall be conducted at a time and place of his convenience, such as his place of residence or business, and the investigating officer shall accordingly be dressed in plain clothes: Provided that the Good Samaritan may choose to have his examination done at the police station, and in such case, the examination shall be conducted in a time bound manner without causing undue delay, and as far as possible, completed in a single examination.
3. In case the Good Samaritan speaks a language other than the language of the investigating officer or the local language of the respective jurisdiction, the investigating officer shall arrange for an interpreter.
4. In case the Good Samaritan has volunteered to become an eye-witness, he shall be permitted to give his evidence on affidavit in accordance with the provisions of section 296 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974): Provided that the affidavit of the Good Samaritan, if filed, shall be treated as complete statement, and in case a statement is to be recorded, the complete statement shall be recorded in a single examination.
5. In case the attendance of a Good Samaritan cannot be procured without delay, expense or inconvenience, which under the circumstances of the case would be unreasonable, or the examination is unable to take place at a time and place of his convenience, the Court or the Magistrate may dispense with such attendance and may issue a commission for the examination of the Good Samaritan in accordance with the provisions of section 284 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 to conduct the examination, on an application made thereunder.
6. Video conferencing shall be used extensively during examination of Good Samaritans who choose to be eye-witnesses, in order to prevent harassment and inconvenience to such Good Samaritan.

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