Police soft-pedal on most drunk driving cases

In one case, even the Madras High Court refused bail to a woman offender twice. However, nothing really happens to these offenders and they usually walk out of the initial imprisonment with a fine. 

On an average, every week police register more than 400 drunken driving cases in the city and these people get back to the wheels after paying a fine at the court and repeat the same offence. According to sources, though Section 304 of IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), which is the Section to be evoked in cases of death due to drunken driving, none of the accused are given the maximum punishment of 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment. 

Sources said that the mentality of the policemen to dilute the FIRs in such vehicle accident cases only help them walk out of the prison with just a fine. “It may sound draconian to award a sentence of 10 years RI to a person who has caused an accident by mistake. But the Section should be invoked if the police could prove that the driver was under the influence of alcohol,” an officer said. 

Especially when wealthy people and posh cars are involved in such accidents, police are more than eager to dilute the case. 

In the last three cases, the accused were remanded only because of the insistence of additional commissioner of traffic.