Drunken driving:Man sentenced till rising of court for 10 days

A 26-year-old youth, who was held guilty of drunken driving, has been spared the jail term by a Delhi court which sentenced him till the rising of the court for 10 days.
Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Hemani Malhotra modified the five-day jail term awarded to Delhi resident Gautam Gosain, who was convicted by a magisterial court for driving in an inebriated state and directed him to appear in the courtroom every morning for 10 days till the rising of the court.
"I am of the considered opinion though appellant does not deserve any leniency for his conduct under the Motor Vehicle Act but yet considering the fact that he is of young marriageable age and that he is a first time offender, the impugned order qua simple imprisonment for 5 days is modified to the extent that he shall undergo TRC (Till the Rising of the Court) for 10 days.

He is further directed to reach the court at 10 AM sharp and to leave court at 5 PM for 10 working days, the ASJ said.
The court also observed that instances of drunken driving and fatal accidents were on the rise in the capital and "the roads of Delhi are one of the most dangerous stretches ever known."
The sessions court noted that the magisterial court had rightly convicted Gosain for the offence of drunken driving as the quantity of alcohol detected in his blood was seven times higher than the permissible limit.

"The man by his such act has not only put his life in danger but also the life of other road users," the ASJ said, while adding that for such a crime a sentence of six months is imposable and a jail term of five days given by the magistrate appeared to be on the "extremely lower side".

The sessions court was hearing an appeal filed by Gosain challenging the magisterial court's order sentencing him to five days jail and a fine of Rs 1,000 for driving the vehicle in an inebriated condition under the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act.
Gosain, through his counsel, had pleaded to be let off with a fine submitting that he was a first time offender and the jail term was a harsh punishment for a crime of "petty nature".