Puritanism on our breath

You may also remember that a sessions court sentenced Perreira to six months in prison, but a division bench of the Bombay high court increased the sentence to three years — after severely indicting the police for botching the evidence. Now the court’s observations obviously touched a nerve that no one dreamt our sensitive cops possessed.

The result: 12,528 cases of drunk driving registered in just six months, 2,623 jailed, 2,739 licences suspended, Rs 2.5 crore collected as fines. Last week, on Christmas Day, six people were sent to prison for one month, another three for a fortnight and 50 between one and five days. And New Year’s Eve contributed a record 338 offenders.

Needless to say, every scalp under the belt has been a feather in the constabulary cap. It’s easy to see why. Firstly, because this campaign reaffirms that debauchery never pays, a lesson that warms the cockles of Mumbai’s puritan heart. Besides, the most liberated party animal cannot deny that it is time we curbed our excesses. Even the sceptics have been silenced, and fatal accidents are down by 22 per cent.

Impressive, but I’m afraid some things simply don’t add up. To begin with, why is our permissible blood alcohol content of 30mg/100ml or barely 0.03 per cent under the Motor Vehicles Act among the lowest in the world? (The US, UK and New Zealand allow up to 80 mg.) Is it because we Indians are morally superior, or — God forbid — racially more susceptible to booze?

More confoundingly, Mumbai has only 40 breathalysers to police a city of 18 million, so our resourceful cops are asking offenders to “blow into their faces” as a rough-and-ready reckoner. This would be funny if it weren’t downright draconian. (By the way, isn’t framing someone on flimsy evidence a crime in itself?)

The “accused” are then herded to the nearest government hospital for more, uh, scientific evaluation, and made to walk on a crudely drawn chalk line to ascertain their level of inebriation. Next, a doctor prepares an alcohol report. If you are Indian, I don’t have to spell out the sordid scenario that follows.

“There is no independent witness or detailed copy of the charges,” says advocate Mihir Gheewala, who is defending three cases.

Justice, nevertheless, is swift and to the letter. The Motor Vehicles Act prescribes a fine of Rs 2,000 and up to six months’ imprisonment for first-time offenders, two years for repeaters. It is a zero tolerance approach that provides a powerful deterrent, explains Joint Commissioner (Traffic) Vijay Kamble. Yet, surely the point of this exercise is not to fill our crowded jails but to get these louts off our roads — permanently — by impounding licences or imposing more prohibitive fines.

And surely the real issue is why simple implementation of the law should become a “campaign” in the first place. Campaigns become an excuse for harassment and corruption. Also because, if you read between the lines and sanctimonious sound bites, there seems to be a distinct correlation between flashy cars and drunkenness. This class bias is understandable, perhaps, but not legally tenable. And finally, because the law has been winked at for so long by its keepers, enforcing it ultimately becomes a witch hunt.

Oh dear, does it sound like I’ve criticised a noble cause? Let me plead not guilty. Though, come to think of it, I just might have if I weren’t a teetotaller.

farah.baria@expressindia.com