BENGALURU: In a rare instance, taking note of the immediate conduct of an accused after an accident in shifting the injured to the hospital in his car, the Karnataka High Court reduced the one-year simple imprisonment awarded by the sessions court to him to a single day, till the rising of the court. The fine amount, however, was increased from Rs 5,000 to Rs 1 lakh which is to be paid to the dependents of the deceased.
While reducing the sentence, the court also considered the willingness of the accused to pay the enhanced fine amount, besides the compensation received by the dependents from the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal.
Justice V Srishananda passed the order recently, partly allowing the criminal revision petition filed by the accused Riyaz Ahmed (53). The accused, a driver from Pakshikere of Mangaluru, had run over one Anand Shetty while driving rashly and negligently in Mangaluru.
In 2018, the sessions court confirmed the sentence passed by the magistrate’s court the same year. As per the order, Ahmed was supposed to serve one-year simple imprisonment and pay a fine of Rs 5,000.
The petitioner’s counsel submitted that the accused did not run away from the spot after the accident, but shifted the injured in his own car, which is a mitigating circumstance. He argued that the court should show lenience by setting aside the sentence and enhancing the fine amount reasonably, which can be paid as compensation.
The counsel requested the court to consider the health of the petitioner, who has met with an accident and has got a rod implanted in his right leg. Because of that, he has lost his job as a driver and is eking out a living by taking up small jobs.
The high court modified the sentence ordered by the magistrate for the offence under Section 304A IPC. It directed the petitioner to undergo simple imprisonment for the day till the rising of the court and enhanced the fine amount to Rs 1 lakh. Of the fine amount, Rs 50,000 to be paid to the wife of the deceased Sumathi and son Santhosh Kumar. That would meet the ends of justice, the court added.
The accident occurred around 6.30 pm on July 15, 2015 in which Anand Shetty lost his life. After the accident, Ahmed stopped the car and shifted the injured in his car for medical aid. Shetty did not survive and the police registered the case against the petitioner for the offence under Sections 279 and 304A IPC.