Death due to rash driving bailable offence: Defence lawyer

Advocate Vikas Pahwa, representing accused Gaganpreet Kaur in the BMW road accident case, has raised serious questions over the delay and contents of the FIR, while asserting that the incident does not amount to culpable homicide.

The accused, Gaganpreet, was produced before the Duty Magistrate and remanded to two-day judicial custody, the police said.

Talking to the media, Pahwa said the FIR was lodged nearly 10 hours after the mishap. “The incident occurred around 1:30 pm, but the FIR was registered only at 11:30 pm. The information in the FIR contradicts statements made at the police press conference. This seems incorrect,” he said.

He argued that the case had been wrongly classified as a non-bailable offence. “If someone dies because of rash and negligent driving, it is a bailable offence. Turning it into a non-bailable offence by adding certain sections is unfortunate,” he noted.

The advocated said the Deputy Commissioner of Police stated that the car met with an accident at a sharp turn, which caused the front portion of the vehicle to crash. Two people riding a two-wheeler were hit and slammed into a DTC bus. Pahwa added that CCTV footage of the incident had not been presented in the court.

He said Gaganpreet, her husband, and their children were inside the car at the time, and the airbags deployed, leaving them injured as well. “This is not a case of rash and negligent driving. How can this fall under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder)?” the lawyer asked.

Pahwa also contested allegations that the victims were taken to a hospital far from the scene. “There is evidence that my client called the doctor in advance, informing them to prepare for an emergency. As per the taxi driver, the doctors attended to the victims properly. They reached the hospital within 46 minutes, and at 2:16 am one of them was declared brought dead,” he said.