HYDERABAD: A man caught riding a motorcycle drunk in Nalgonda district has been fined Rs 10,000, making him the first person in Telangana to be penalised under the new Motor Vehicles (MV) Act. The judicial first class magistrate (JFCM) court in Nalgonda district’s Nakrekal village on Tuesday said it was taking a lenient view of the offence and not ordering imprisonment since this was the first time the a c c u s e d w a s caught. Non-payment of the fine, however, would result in imprisonment for 15 days, the court added. Earlier, the penalty for drunk driving was a Rs 2,000 fine.
The accused person was caught at the Nakrekal Centre on Friday, with a BAC level of 172/100 mg, the police said. His vehicle was confiscated and he was produced in court on Monday. The JFCM court held that he was guilty, and observed that the offence was punishable under Section 185 (a) of the MV Act. It further convicted him under Section 252 of the CrPC.
“Offences like drunk driving are not compounding under the (MV) Act, and are directly tried by the court. Offences like not wearing a helmet, minor driving, wrong-side driving are ‘compounding’, and hence, need a GO to be brought into force,” said the SP of Nalgonda, AV Ranganath.