The Delhi government approved a Good Samaritan policy in which the government will reward anyone who helps accident victims and take them to the hospital with Rs 2000.
This scheme will encourage people to take accident victims to the hospital. Along with Rs 2,000, an appreciation certificate issued by the government will also be given – Deputy chief minister,Manish Sisodia of Delhi
“A Supreme Court order with regards to helping accident victims needs to be institutionalized better. That can only be done if people are motivated by giving them assurance that there is a law in place that will protect them. The monetary benefit is a great initiative but money is not the only factor when it comes to helping victims. It is the fear of legal hassles,” Says Saji Cherian, director of the road safety NGO SaveLife Foundation according to Hindustan Times.
He also said that Delhi needs a comprehensive state-specific law for the protection of good samaritans similar to the one passed by Karnataka in November 2016.
In 2012, SaveLife Foundation had filed a PIL which led to an SC judgment in 2016. The judgment had issued a list of guidelines protecting good samaritans from legal hassles.
A bench comprising justices VP Gopala Gowda and Arun Mishra directed the Centre to give wide publicity to the guidelines, which clearly stipulated that people who help a victim of road accidents or other calamities would not be harassed in any way.