Court denies relief to accused in hit and run case

A court in Delhi has denied granting any relief in terms of punishment awarded to a Delhi resident for fatally knocking down a man and injuring two other pedestrians 10 years ago. The present judgement has come in the wake of rising number of road accidents happening in and around the country that is a clear example of rash and negligent driving on road. The matter came up when the Additional Sessions judge was hearing an appeal of Amit Arora, who was contesting the conviction and sentencing orders passed by a metropolitan magistrate (MM) court. The MM court had found Arora guilty under Sections 304 A (causing death by negligence), 279 (rash driving) and 337 (causing hurt by endangering personal safety of others). He had subsequently been sentenced to suffer a year for causing death by negligence and six months on two other counts besides being directed to pay Rs 2 lakh to the deceased's family and Rs 5,000 each to the injured. The accident happened back in the year 2006, when the alleged accused was driving an Indica car, which hit Ashwani Kumar, Sunil Kumar and Raman Kumar. While Ashwani did not survive the accident's impact, the other two were injured but testified in court. The Additional Sessions Judge stated that the vehicle was driven in a rash and reckless manner as a result of which the appellant did not see the pedestrians crossing the road which was a well-lit place, i e. outer circle Connaught Place.

The present opinion put forward by the court of not interfering with the punishment granted in hit and run case is completely justified. It is high time that the citizens should realise their duty of care towards fellow citizens and mend their acts accordingly. This decision shall surely act as a deterrent to further acts of rash and negligent driving.