Pune techie bleeds to death as people click selfies: Time to pass Good Samaritan law?

A 25-year-old techie bled to death on the roads of Pune in Maharashtra recently as people passed around him and even stopped to take photos and videos. 

This, even as a bill that would reward Good Samaritans who help accident victims is stuck in Parliament, and was expected to be tabled during the ongoing Monsoon session. 

The Good Samaritan clause is important because it provides people who come forward to help accident victims full protection from civil and criminal liability.

These liabilities are one of the biggest reasons people often shirk away from helping accident victims: Those who extend such help often find themselves entangled in legal hassles, and at times are blamed for the accident itself. 

The accident

Satish Prabhakar Mete was reportedly returning home from work on the night of Wednesday, July 19, when a car hit his motorcycle near the Indrayani corner area of Pune. 

It was a Good Samaritan that came to his rescue in the form of dentist Dr Kirtiraj Kate. The good doctor tried to resuscitate him and then took him to Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital, where he was declared dead. 

However, what is shocking about the case is what Kate told Pune Newsline: "It was shocking that the bystanders, instead of taking the injured to the hospital, were clicking photos and taking videos."

He added: "Had the passers-by helped him in time, he could have been saved."

Public apathy

According to the Central government, more than 1.69 lakh people died of road accidents and related causes in India in 2014 alone. And the number has been rising ever since. 

The Motor Vehicle Act (Amendment) Bill 2017 plans to bring down such deaths through a number of measures, including the Good Samaritan clause, which provides protection to those whoi help accident victims. 

The rationale here is that if an accident victim gets medical help on time, he or she can survive the mishap. And that timely medical attention can come from passers-by if they know that there will be no legal hassles for them if they extend a helping hand. 

The Amendment Bill has already received a nod from the Lok Sabha, but is currently stuck in the Rajya Sabha. After it is passed in the Rajya Sabha, it will need to be okayed by the President to become a law.