Is breath analyser is the single
remedy to find out a person is under the influence of alcohol?
A
drive launched in Kerala from 24th February by the Railway Police
Force and Kerala Police against people
under the influence of alcohol in trains and at railway platforms. Now
the big question is whether the law will be implemented without abuse or not.
It
was reported that the Railway Police Force in Kerala and Kerala Police were
fully geared to hunt down those under the influence of alcohol and travelling
in trains. People coming to railway platforms would also be screened, a police
official said.
An
official from Railway Police Force said: 'We are now equipped with breath
analysers and if anyone is found under the influence of alcohol, he could get a
six month jail term,' reported IANS.
What the Indian Railways Act Part II, Section 145 describes?
145. Drunkenness or
nuisance: If any person in any railway
carriage or upon any part of a railway
(a)
is in a
state of intoxication
(b)
commits
any nuisance or act of indecency or uses abusive or obscene language; or
(c)
wilfully
or without excuse interferes with any amenity provided by the railway administration
so as to affect the comfortable travel of any passenger, he may be removed from
the railway by any railway servant and shall, in addition to the forfeiture of
his pass or ticket, be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to six
months and with a fine which may extend to five hundred rupees;
provided
that in the absence of special and adequate reasons to the contrary to be
mentioned in the judgment of the court, such punishment shall not be less than
(a)
a fine of
one hundred rupees in the case of conviction for the first offence; and
(b)
imprisonment
of one month and a fine of two hundred and fifty rupees, in the case of
conviction for second or subsequent offence.
Ironically
Kerala stands first in per capita consumption of liquor at 8.3 litres. Over the years,
the age at which youngsters begin to consume liquor has come down in Kerala. In
1986 the age was 19, by 1990 it had dropped to 17, and by 1994 the age was 14.
It’s a common
belief amongst the people of Kerala that quite a few railway employees and
police personnel in Kerala consume alcohol heavily barring the technicality of
on duty or off duty.
In my opinion,
the new sensation of the so called implementation of the railway act
exclusively in Kerala state will face its own failures and abuses. The law and
officials are for maintaining law and order and keeping the system in place for
the sake of people. It is not for settling personal scores, dealing with petty egos
or establishing the supremacy of officials. There is an inevitable unseen danger
prevails of generating employees’ militancy from the associations of railway
police, Kerala police and railway personnel and clashes between general public,
political parties and other stake holders.
