o   Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued the following guidelines for the protection of the people, on the recommendation of the Panel appointed by the Court and in consultation with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Law and Order.

o   Any bystander, including an eyewitness of the road accident, can take the injured person to the nearest hospital. In such situations the bystander will be allowed to leave immediately after admitting the injured, no questions asked, in case of an eyewitness, he/she will be let go after the address and any other required details are confirmed by the officials.

o   To encourage other citizens to come forward for the help of Road Accident victims, a suitable reward or compensation will be given by the methods adopted by the State Governments.

o   The bystander will not be liable for any civil and criminal liability, and neither will he/she be compelled to state his/her name and personal details. Producing such details will be made optional and voluntary. Similarly, this will also be incorporated in the Medicolegal Case (MLC) Forms provided by hospitals. Necessary disciplinary actions will be taken against Government officials in case they force or threaten such good will bystanders for their personal details.

o   In a situation where the bystander or first responder voluntarily mentions himself/herself as the witness of the accident, and is required to be present for the investigation by the Police or during trial, he/she will be summoned for the trial and Standard Operating Procedure defined by the State Government will be followed, to avoid any persecution or intimidation. The eyewitness will be contacted extensively for video conferencing during the trial.

o   The Ministry of Health and Family welfare is to issue a guideline which would mention that no registered Public or Private hospital should stop the payment of first responder, towards the registration or recruitment costs.

o   In case of an emergency situation related to road accident, if the doctor or any other medical professional refuses to help or if there is any lack of response by the doctor for treatment of the patient, all such personnel will be prosecuted under the Indian Medical Council (Business Ethics, Ethics and Moral) Regulation, 2002, Section 8. All Hospitals will be directed to publish and post a charter in this regard, in the English, Hindi and the native language if the State or Union Territory to this effect. Appropriate action will be taken by concerned authorities in case of noncompliance or violation of these guidelines.