Taking a stern view of rash driving, a city court has refused to set aside the jail term of a convict involved in an accident that led to the amputation of a minor girl's hand, saying "total lack" of fear of deterrence has led the rules to be violated with impunity.
The court, however, modified his sentence from 1.2 years to six months for offences under sections 279 (rash driving) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by endangering life or personal safety of others) of IPC, noting he was the sole bread earner and long incarceration could adversely affect his family.
"Awarding an appropriate punishment is a crucial aspect of the criminal justice system. Undue harsh or lenient sentence, both lose its significance. The society as a whole is one of the stakeholders in criminal justice system. Therefore, appropriate sentencing is necessary to keep alive the faith of a common man in Court," Additional Sessions Judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar said.
The court, while refusing to release convict Shatrughan on probation, observed "cases of rampant driving unmindful of the pedestrian and motorists on the road has become a practice nowadays. The driving rules are violated with impunity."
"There is a total lack of fear/deterrence in the mind of professional drivers in general for the reasons that the trial takes considerably long time to reach a logical conclusion and if a person has been convicted for rash and negligent driving, he gets away with a warning or a probation," it said.
The court's observations came in a April 2010 case in which a minor girl, riding the pillion on a bike with her father in South Delhi's Mehrauli area, got hit by the convict's rashly driven truck when her hand got crushed under its wheels. Her right hand had to be amputated later.
"Time is right for awarding substantive sentence in rash and negligent driving of commercial vehicles by professional drivers on the road. When awarding the sentence one cannot ignore the devastating consequences which visit the victim and the family members. A professional driver having the command of a heavy vehicle has a greater burden to abide by driving rules," the court said.
The judge said courts cannot be oblivious to the effect of the convict's act which led to the amputation.
"The victim has got a life long disability on account of single act of negligence on the part of the appellant. If in such cases, the benevolent provisions of the Probation of Offenders Act, 1958 are extended to an accused, it will have a negative impact on the society," the judge said.
The convict had challenged a magisterial court's August last year's order by which he was sentenced to 1.2 years in jail, contending that he has already faced trial for six years and should be released on probation.
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