Let’s stop calling it a “tragic accident.” When an underage teenager drives a high-powered vehicle and someone dies, that is not fate. It is not destiny. It is not “youthful error.”
It is adult-enabled negligence. And unless parents begin facing immediate arrest when their minor children kill behind the wheel, this country will keep burying innocent people.
The 23-year-old Sahil Dhaneshra, who was going to his office, was killed after a Scorpio, driven by the minor, rammed his motorcycle head-on near Lal Bahadur Shastri College in Dwarka around 12 noon on February 3. The impact also led to a collision with a parked cab, leaving its driver seriously injured.
The accused, who did not possess a driving licence, was detained and produced before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB), which sent him to an observation home.
On February 10, the Board granted him interim bail, citing his ongoing Class 10 board examinations, police said.
This Is Not About the Teenager. This Is About the Adult.
A minor does not magically access a car. A minor does not register a vehicle. A minor does not pay insurance. A minor does not decide household rules. So when a minor is speeding through Delhi roads, someone older… someone legally responsible… allowed it. And that person should not be sitting at home waiting for court dates. They should be in custody.
Enough With the “Let the Law Take Its Course” Excuse
We have heard this line too many times. Pune. Gurugram. Bengaluru. Now Dwarka.
The script never changes:
• High-speed SUV
• Underage driver
• A life lost
• Public outrage
• Legal dilution
• Silence
And then the cycle repeats. Why? Because there is no fear. There is no certainty of consequence. And in India, where consequences are uncertain, negligence thrives.
If You Hand the Keys, You Own the Crime
Let us be blunt. If you knowingly allow your underage child to drive, you are not just being careless… you are taking a calculated risk with someone else’s life. When that risk ends in death, it cannot be treated as a minor parenting lapse. It becomes culpable negligence. And culpable negligence that kills must carry prison time. Not fines. Not warnings. Not “community service.” Prison.
This is a cultural problem disguised as privilege. Some parents treat cars as status symbols and driving as a rite of passage… even when the law clearly prohibits it.
The message being sent to teenagers is simple – “You won’t face real consequences.” And the message being sent to grieving families is worse – “Your loss will become a file.” This moral imbalance is unacceptable.
The Law Must Send a Message That Echoes
If a minor causes death while driving – The parent must be immediately arrested.
Bail must not be automatic. Charges must reflect the gravity of the outcome. Fast-track courts must prioritise these cases.
Driving licenses of guardians must face long-term suspension. Not for vengeance. For deterrence… because deterrence works when consequences are visible and swift.
India’s middle class believes in hard work, education, discipline, and responsibility but we cannot demand accountability from the system while excusing recklessness at home.
If we want safer roads for our own children, we must accept stricter accountability for ourselves.
No parent should be able to say, “I didn’t think it would happen.” It always “doesn’t happen”… until it does.
We cannot afford symbolic outrage. If this case ends like so many before it… with diluted consequences and procedural delays… it will confirm what people already fear – That influence protects recklessness. And that road deaths are treated as routine. They are not routine. They are preventable.
One Clear Principle
If a minor drives illegally and someone dies, the law must hold the enabling adult equally accountable.
No soft language. No emotional shielding. No social status exceptions.
Responsibility cannot stop at the steering wheel. If India is serious about road safety, this is where the reform must begin.
Not with slogans. Not with campaigns. With jail time for negligence that kills.
