Supreme Court makes protection of good samaritans binding on all states and Union territories

Assisting road accident victims without fear of intimidation and harassment from police officials could finally become a reality in India. The Supreme Court, in a landmark judgement today, made the guidelines for protection of good samaritans, notified by the government of India last year, binding on all states and union territories.

The guidelines were issued by the Supreme Court of India, based on a petition filed by SaveLife Foundation, a Delhi-based independent, non-profit organisation focused on improving road safety.

Piyush Tewari, founder and CEO, SaveLIFE Foundation, welcomed the long-awaited ruling by the Supreme Court of India: “This is a big day for India. The public need not fear any harassment or intimidation for helping an injured person on the road. Until now most states were treating the guidelines merely as an advisory, but now non-compliance will be treated as contempt of court, making these guidelines as good as a law. The onus is now on state governments and union territories to ensure implementation of these guidelines.”

As per the guidelines, the disclosure of personal information of those who bring an injured person to the hospital has been made voluntary. Moreover, they shall not be made accountable for any civil or criminal liability, and any official who attempts to intimidate the person shall face departmental action. Similarly, a lack of response from a doctor who is expected to provide care during an emergency shall also necessitate disciplinary action.

The detailed guidelines for the protection of those who help the injured from police intimidation, detention at hospitals and protracted court cases can be found here.
SaveLIFE Foundation had filed the PIL in 2012 and on May 13, 2015, the government of India issued detailed guidelines for protection of good samaritans following a SC order in the case. On January 22, 2016, the government took one step further to support the guidelines and issued standard operating procedures (SOP) for the examination of good samaritans by the police or during trial. These SOPs too have been made binding on states and UTs.