Maha mulls increasing fine for drunken driving to Rs 10,000

"We would soon issue an ordinance making a provision of minimum six months of imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000 for drunken driving," Home Minister R R Patil told reporters here.

As per the current law, the provision of imprisonment is maximum six months and fine is Rs 500, he said.

"The driving licence of the person would be cancelled if caught second time for the same reason," he said.

Patil also assured to intensify the drive, which started in 2007, against drunken driving to avoid any such cases in future.

Over 43,600 cases were registered under the drive and police have collected Rs eight crore fine till last month, Patil said. Over 21,000 people were sent to simple imprisonment, he added.

Last week, 27-year-old Nooriya Haveliwala, allegedly under the influence of alcohol, had rammed her car into a police jeep and a bike killing the biker and an assistant sub-inspector of the traffic police.