Court acquits man in negligent driving case

A Delhi court has acquitted a man of the charges of allegedly negligently driving his tempo and grievously injuring a minor girl after the police failed to examine the "sole eye witness" in the case.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sharad Gupta let off Delhi resident Bhola Sahani noting that police has failed to examine mother of the victim, who was accompanying her and was the sole eye witness of the accident.
"Prosecution has not examined its star witness and sole eye witness/complainant Manju Devi...All the other witnesses were formal PWs (prosecution witness), due to which PE (prosecution evidence) was closed. In the absence of examination of the complainant and sole eye witness, the allegations against the accused could not be proved.

"There is nothing on record to show how actually accident took place and in absence of testimony of sole eye witness, no finding that the accused was rash or negligent in driving his vehicle, can be given. As such prosecution has failed to prove its case, accordingly accused is hereby acquitted of charges giving him benefit of doubt," the court said.
The prosecution had alleged that on November 17, 2006, Sahani was driving a tempo and had hit victim Rakhi while she was crossing the road with her mother. She had sustained grievous injuries in the accident at West Karawal Nagar here.

The accused was charged for offences under section 279 (rash driving on a public way) and 304-A (causing death by rash and negligent act) of the IPC.
Sahani, however, said that he was innocent and was not driving the offending vehicle at the time of accident and has not caused any accident.