Drunk Nayagaon school van driver awarded 4-year RI for causing cyclist's death

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

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Chandigarh, October 31

Observing that a stern message is required to be given that driving under the influence of liquor is not tolerable and will be dealt with a heavy hand, Jagdeep Sood, Additional Sessions Judge, has sentenced a 30-year-old Nayagaon resident to undergo rigorous imprisonment (RI) for four years. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on the convict.

As per the prosecution, Sunny was driving a school van allegedly under the influence of liquor and had allegedly hit a cyclist in Sector 21, Chandigarh, on August 1, 2018. The police registered a case against the accused on a complaint of a Sector 21 resident who was witness to the accident.

The complainant had stated that a van coming from the Aroma light point, which was being driven in a rash and negligent manner, hit the cyclist causing him to fall on the windshield of a car, leaving him seriously injured. The complainant dialed ‘100’ and the injured was taken to a hospital before a PCR vehicle reached spot.

While the investigation was underway, the victim succumbed to his injuries and offence under Section 304 of the IPC was added to the case. The police filed a chargesheet against the accused. Later, the court framed charges under Section 304 of the IPC, and 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act, to which the accused pleaded not guilty and claimed a trial.

The public prosecutor argued that the complainant as well as other prosecution witnesses had categorically identified the accused being the driver of the van, who was found to be drunk. The accused was apprehended at the spot, but refused to give his blood and urine samples.

After hearing of the arguments, the court held the accused guilty of the offences framed against him. The court observed that the convict had been driving a school van under the influence of liquor. He was found unable to stand after causing an accident. The court observed that the accident could have been avoided if the convict was sober.