Deciding Authority: The Supreme Court of India
Name of the Judges: R.P. Sethi & K.G. Balakrishnan
Date of Judgement: 21/03/2002
Facts:
One Dr. Venkatesh Kanakareddy, along with members of his family proceeded to Mysore in a car from his native village Mahalingapur on 3.8.1991 to visit his son who was studying there. PW-2, who was working as a Compounder in his nursing home, also accompanied Dr. Venkatesh Kanakareddy. They spent the night of 3.8.1991 at Mysore and at 8.00 PM on 4.8.1991 left Mysore. By about 7.30 AM on the next day, i.e. 5.8.1991, they reached a place called Todas Cross near Hubli. The car driven by Dr. Venkatesh had a head-on collision with a mini lorry No. KA 25-1040 driven by the respondent-accused. As a result of the collision, the right front wheel of the car burst and the driver of the car lost control of the vehicle and it dashed against a nearby tree. Dr. Venkatesh Kanakareddy, his wife and another occupant of the car died on the spot and one person was injured. The injured was removed to the nearby hospital, but he also succumbed to his injuries later on. The trial Magistrate and the appellate court found the respondent guilty of offences punishable under Sections 279, 337, 338 and 304A IPC based on the evidence adduced by the prosecution. In Revision, the learned Single Judge of the High Court also confirmed the conviction of the respondent, but modified the sentence.
Judgement:
It may be noted here that the respondent had raised a plea before the learned Magistrate as well as before the appellate court that the accident might have occurred due to the bursting of the right front tyre of the car as a result of which the car went to the right side of the road and dashed against the lorry. But this plea was not accepted by the trial court as well as the appellate court. A suggestion to this effect was put to the Motor Vehicles Inspector who had examined the vehicle after the accident. However, the Inspector also declined the suggestion that the accident might have occurred as a result of bursting of the tyre and he opined that the tyre would have burst due to the collision between the two vehicles. The possibility of the car having gone to the extreme right side is also ruled out by the evidence. The observation made by the Revisional court is not based on the evidence on record.
The Court is of the view that having regard to the serious nature of the accident, which resulted in the death of four persons, the learned Single Judge should not have interfered with the sentence imposed by the court below. It may create and set an unhealthy precedent and send wrong signals to the subordinate courts which have to deal with several such accident cases. If the accused are found guilty of rash and negligent driving, courts have to be on guard to ensure that they do not escape the clutches of law very lightly. The sentence imposed by the courts should have deterrent effect on potential wrong-doers and it should commensurate with the seriousness of the offence. Of course, the Courts are given discretion in the matter of sentence to take stock of the wide and varying range of facts that might be relevant for fixing the quantum of sentence, but the discretion shall be exercised with due regard to larger interest of the society and it is needless to add that passing of sentence on the offender is probably the most public face of the criminal justice system.
Decision:
In the facts and circumstances of this case, the Court is inclined to interfere with the judgment of the learned Single Judge and hold that the respondent is liable to undergo the sentence imposed by the trial Magistrate and affirmed by the appellate court.
Sudipta Bhowmick, 4th Year, B.A. LL.B, KIIT School of Law.
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