Murder is simply defined as the killing of a human being with malice aforethought.
When a person drives under the influence of liquor or some other intoxicating substance, besides being against the law the driver is well aware of the possible consequences/dangers of his action. Therefore one can safely say that there is an element of 'aforethought' here. Also the driver being a major can be held responsible for all his actions. So this accident in in fact a clear case of murder.
The punishment should be severe as per the severity of the crime and to my mind should include all the following 1.A jail sentence of atleast 3 years( 5 years in case driver had no license) 2.A huge monetary fine of 75 lacs which should be used to compensate the injured and families of the dead.( This would also serve as punishment to the family of the driver as they are also partly responsible) 3. The driver should be banned from driving any motor vehicle for the rest of his life.
There is also need to prevent such crimes by regularly checking drivers for driving under influence of intoxicants and severe punishment including forfeiting of licences , huge fines and imprisonment.
