Driving In High Speed In A Very Busy Road Can Be Said To Be Rash & Negligent: Bombay HC [Read Judgment]

The Trial Court had convicted Popat Bhaginath Kasar under section 304­A and Section 279 of the Indian Penal Code. On his appeal, the appellate court acquitted him for the offence under Section 279 of the Indian Penal Code, but affirmed the conviction under Section 304A IPC. The vehicle had hit a seven year old boy who died on the spot. 

In his revision petition, Justice VM Deshpande observed that though the speed alone is not a criteria to reach to the conclusion about the rashness on the part of the driver of the offending vehicle, it will be one of the factor as an indicator to show that the driver was driving the vehicle in most rash and negligent manner if he is unable to control the speed of the vehicle.

The court  also noticed that it has been brought on record that road on which the incident has occurred, is full of traffic. It said:

"As seen from the evidence of the two prosecution witnesses, the incident in question has occurred, though at the outskirts of Ahmednagar city, it was thickly populated area and there was heavy rush of various vehicles. In that view of the matter, it was expected from a driver not to drive the vehicle at very high speed at such place. When the driver, inspite of knowing the fact that the spot of the occurrence is thickly populated and very busy road, still allows himself to drive the vehicle in very high speed, in my view, it will be one of the shade of driving the vehicle in rash and negligent manner. In the incident, had the driver at the relevant time, was driving the vehicle in not in rash and negligent manner, life of a boy, namely Neeraj, aged about seven years, could have been saved. Due to the rash and negligent act on the part of the Applicant, his precious life was cut-short."

Dismissing the revision petition, the court said:

In my view, driving the vehicle in a high speed in the area which is thickly populated and having too much movements, is one of the shade by which it could be said that it is a rash and negligent driving.

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