SC upholds rules to support Good Samaritans

The Supreme Court has upheld a Central notification issuing standard operating procedure (SOP) for the protection and examination of ‘Good Samaritans’ — those who help road accident victims — and make it binding on all State governments and authorities.

      The court has endorsed the January 21, 2016 notification issued by the Transport Ministry as a positive signal for a concerted effort to change the public’s attitude of turning away from helping a road accident victim reach critical medical care.

• The court said wide publicity should be given by the Centre and the States about the guidelines.

Background:

The SOP was framed by the government on the orders passed by the Supreme Court on a PIL plea filed by NGO SaveLIFE Foundation in 2012, highlighting the fact that more lives of accident victims can be saved if a law can be made to protect Good Samaritans from legal and procedural hassles at the hands of police and hospitals.

• Following this, the Centre issued a series of guidelines on May 12, 2015, to protect Good Samaritans. These included assuring them anonymity and protecting them from any civil or criminal liability for taking the victim to the nearest hospital. The government had also indicated that an SOP should be further evolved in this regard.
• In the January 16 notification, the government highlighted that bystanders or passers-by, who chose to help a person in distress on the road, should be “treated respectfully and without discrimination on the grounds of gender, religion, nationality, caste or any other.”
• Other SOPs include complete anonymity in case the Good Samaritan does not want to reveal his name or details, use of video-conferencing in case of any further interaction with him by the authorities and provision for the police to examine him at his residence or office or any place of his convenience. This should be done only once and in a time-bound manner.