Negligent driving: Man acquitted as eyewitness fails to appear

A Delhi court has acquitted a van driver of the charges of negligent driving leading to the death of a person, saying the police failed to produce the only eyewitness of the incident.
Metropolitan Magistrate Arvind Bansal acquitted Delhi resident Vishesh Patel, the van driver, in the case after noting that the injured, Rajesh Jain, who was the only eyewitness and on whose statement the prosecution had based its case, could not be produced before the court.
"Prosecution case cannot be considered to be standing on its own legs without the testimony of injured (Jain) asserting the facts mentioned in his statement before the police/IO (investigating officer)," the court said.

"Since, the prosecution has completely failed to examine the only material and eyewitness to the alleged commission of offence of rash or negligent driving of accused and consequent infliction of injuries to one and death of another, nothing incriminating against the accused could be brought on record," it said, while giving Patel the benefit of doubt.
According to the police, on September 1, 2007, Patel, while driving a van in a rash and negligent manner hit a motorcycle and caused grievous hurt to the pillion rider of that motorcycle and caused death of its rider.
Thereafter, an FIR was registered in this regard and Patel was arrested. Charges were framed against him under sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way), 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 304A (causing death by negligence) of IPC.

The accused, however, had denied the allegations against him and claimed he was falsely implicated.