Page 12 - PR COMMUNICATION AGE AUGUST 2015 SAMPLE

to the maximum, the victims of accident were totally
ignored. The police, in turn, out of pressure hurriedly
charge-sheeted him by treating this case as "Hit and Run"
Case. Justice hurried is justice buried.
Generally, Hit and Run cases are made against those persons
who have absconded after the accident and their
whereabouts are not known, whereby neither the owner
of vehicle nor the insurer could pay compensation to the
injured third parties. When the vehicle is traced after the
accident, a case before the MACT is tried with a criminal
case under Sec. 304-A of IPC.
But in this instant case since Salman Khan subsequently
surrendered, the police booked him under Hit and Run is
not correct and the case under Section 304 is not proper,
because there is a specific provision under Section 304-A,
for rash and negligent driving is available.
But to get the culprit maximum punishment, the case was
made as HIT and RUN and is lingering for 13 years. This was
so done on the public demand and desire of the media for
maximum punishment. During the course of this case, the
celebrity spent a fortnight in the jail, and then bailed while
the victims of the accident, suffered without any financial relief. harm to the innocent victims whereby they lost the right
However on the disposal of the case in the Sessions Court,
with the pomp and show, the culprit received the same
honour as that of a dignatory as the foreign head of the
state arrives in our country.
Generally in the Hit and Run Cases, such vehicles after the
accident vanishes and are untraceable whereby the victims
of accident suffer from making any demand of compensation
from the owner of the vehicle or his insurer and driver. The
government gives compensation to the victims of the
accident through the Solatium Fund.
Since prosecuting under Section 304-A attract 2 years
punishment, as is provided the law of the land, no wishes
or vendetta can make any change. But out of enthusiasm
to get the culprit punished to the maximum, the
sympathizes forgot the delicacy of the provisions, the result
being that the right to compensation of the victims is totally
ignored.
Dream big and dare to fail.
8 PR COMMUNICATION AGE August 2015
Thus in this case Salman Khan could have been booked for
offences:
1. for rash and negligent driving
2. absconding for not reporting the accident to the police
3. was drunk at the time of driving etc.
Hence the total Punishment or this violations would have
been more. The victims in addition to the above should have
been asked to file a MACT case under Section 163 and 163-
A of the Motor Vehicles Act for compensation for death and
injuries to other persons. The insurance company, in
principle would have rejected liability for non-possession of
driving license and also for driving the vehicle in drunken
condition.
This would have otherwise saddled the culprit to pay the
compensation so awarded in MACT case, which the insurer
would have denied the liability for violation of policy
conditions and the insured i.e., the culprit, in turn, would
have become personally liable to pay the same.
But in the whim to have the culprit punished, the
enthusiastic public and supporting media have done lot of
of filing the MACT case and their chances of getting the
compensation have become bleak due to limitation.
Not only a defective case was filed as "hit and run" case,
but also for "culpable homicide" and the decision after 13
years has given a better scope to Salman Khan to go in for
appeal. Now he has better chances of succeeding in appeal
if he takes the above pleas in the appeal.
It is a high time for the sympathizes of the case from among
the public and the media to apply a collective effort to
prevail on Salman Khan, as moral responsibility, to pay the
just compensation to the victims of the accident, say
Rs.1,00,000 to each of the injured victims and Rs.5,00,000/
- to the dependants of the deceased plus 50% weightage
or interest for the delay of 13 years, as a matter of courtesy
grace or goodwill on the part of the Bollywood superstar
so that they may get recompense for his sullen deeds. This
will truly be as sympathy to the poor from the clutching the
hands of the guilty and rich superstar.