Delhi District Court
Criminal Case/171/2009 on 23 October, 2013
IN THE COURT OF METROPOLITAN MAGISTRATE-05
(SOUTH-WEST), DWARKA COURTS, NEW DELHI
Presided by: Ms. Manika
State v. Krishan Gopal
FIR No. 171/09
Police Station : Chhawla
Under Section : 279/304 A/435 IPC
Unique Case ID Number: 02405R0184682012
Date of institution : 11.08.2010
Date of reserving : 23.10.2013
Date of pronouncement: 23.10.2013
JUDGMENT
a) Serial number of the case : 64/01/12
b) Date of commission of : 18.10.2011
offence
c) Name of the complainant : Head Constable Sanjay
d) Name, parentage and : Sh. Krishan Gopal ,
address of the accused S/o Sh. Ram Kishan,
R/o Village Jharsa, Police
Station Sadar, Sector 38, Thandi
Dokhar, District Guragon,
Haryana.
e) Offence complained of : Section 279/304 A IPC and
Section 146/196 Motor Vehicle
Act
State v. Krishan Gopal
FIR No. 171/2009 P.S.: Chhawla Page 1 of 6
f) Plea of the accused : Pleaded not guilty to the offence
under Section 279/304 A IPC
Pleaded guilty to the offence
under Section 146/196 Motor
Vehicles Act
g) Final order : Acquitted of offence punishable
under Section 279/304 A IPC
Convicted of the offence
punishable under Section
146/196 Motor Vehicles Act.
h) Date of final order : 23.10.2013
BRIEF STATEMENT OF FACTS AND REASONS FOR THE DECISION
1. Vide this judgment the accused is being acquitted of the offence punishable under Sections 279/304 A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (hereinafter referred to as 'I.P.C.') in the instant case FIR No. 171/2009 Police Station Chhawla for the reasons mentioned below.
CASE OF PROSECUTION
2. Briefly stated, the case of the prosecution is that on 18.08.2009, at about 8.00 am at Shikar Pur, Ghumanhera Road, New Delhi within the jurisdiction of police station Chhawla, the accused was found driving a motor cycle bearing No. HR-26 AH-4456 in a manner so rash or negligent as to endanger human life or personal safety of others or likely to cause injury to any other person and while driving the said motorcycle in the aforesaid manner he hit one Asharfi (since deceased) State v. Krishan Gopal FIR No. 171/2009 P.S.: Chhawla Page 2 of 6 who was pulling a rehdi and thereby caused his death not amounting to culpable homicide and at the time of the said accident, the offending vehicle i.e. motorcycle bearing No. HR-26 AH-4456 was not having any valid insurance.
ACCUSATION AGAINST THE ACCUSED
3. Vide order dated 06.01.2011 passed by the learned predecessor of this court, notice of accusation under Section 251 Cr.P.C. for the offences punishable under Sections 279 and 304 A of the I.P.C. and 146/196 of Motor Vehicles Act was served upon the accused to which he pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.
COURT PROCEEDINGS
4. The case was received by way of transfer by this Court on 22.03.2012.
5. The accused voluntarily pleaded guilty to the offence punishable under Section 146/196 Motor Vehicles Act. His plea of guilt was accepted and the accused was convicted for the offence punishable under Section 146/196 Motor Vehicles Act vide entry at Serial number 1 dated 23.10.2013 in the Summary Trial Register.
EVIDENCE OF THE PROSECUTION
6. The prosecution in all examined ten witnesses.
7. PW-1 Sh. Puran Chand is the mechanical inspector who conducted the mechanical inspection of the offending vehicle bearing no. HR-26 AH-4456 vide his report Ex. PW 1/A. PW-2 Vinod, PW-5 State v. Krishan Gopal FIR No. 171/2009 P.S.: Chhawla Page 3 of 6 Satyaprkash (wrongly noted as PW-4) and PW-7 Raj Kumar (wrongly noted as PW-6) had identified the dead body of deceased Asrafi in the mortuary of RTRM Hospital and the dead body of deceased Asrafi had been handed over to them vide receipt Ex. PW 2/B. PW-3 Constable Arvind had joined investigation with the investigating officer. PW-4 Head Constable Chander Shekhar is the duty officer who had recorded the FIR no. 171/09, Ex. PW 4/A and made his endorsement Ex. PW 4/D on the rukka. He also recorded DD number 19 A, Ex. PW 4/B and DD no. 23 A, Ex. PW 4/C. PW-6 Dr. Parvinder Singh (wrongly noted as PW-5) had conducted the post mortem on the body of deceased Asrafi vide post mortem report Ex. PW 5/A. PW-8 Dr. Rakesh Kumar (wrongly noted as PW7) had medically examined accused Krishan Gopal and deceased Asrafi vide MLCs Ex. PW 7/A and Ex. PW 7/B. PW-9 Head Constable Sanjay Kumar (wrongly noted as PW-8) is the investigating officer in the present case. PW-10 Shivji Sahani (wrongly noted as PW-9) is the eye witness to the alleged accident as per the prosecution case.
8. Prosecution evidence was closed today vide detailed order dated 21.10.2013.
STATEMENT OF ACCUSED
9. Statement of the accused was dispensed with as there was no incriminating evidence against the accused.
FINDINGS
10. The record has been carefully and thoroughly perused. The State v. Krishan Gopal FIR No. 171/2009 P.S.: Chhawla Page 4 of 6 respective submissions of Sh. Brijesh Kumar, learned Assistant Public Prosecutor for State and Sh. Rajesh Mishra, Advocate, learned counsel for the accused, have been heard and considered.
11. Perusal of record reveals that the prosecution has cited and examined only one eye-witness namely PW-10 Shivji Sahani (wrongly noted as PW-9). However, while appearing in the witness box as PW-10 Sh. Shivji Sahani did not support the prosecution case with regard to the identity of the accused. He stated that in the year 2009 at about 8.00-9.00 pm at the time of the incident, he had gone to the fields and after half an hour, when he came back at the spot, he saw that Ashrafi Lal was dead. He stated that he did not know anything about the present case. He was cross-examined at length by the learned Assistant Public Prosecutor for the State, however, he did not change his stand. During his cross-examination, on behalf of the State, PW-10 denied the suggestion to the effect that he is an eye-witness to the accident. In view of the fact that the only eye-witness to the accident cited or examined by the prosecution has resiled from his previous statement and has denied that the accused was driving the motorcycle in question in a rash or negligent manner, the prosecution has clearly failed to prove the most essential ingredient of the offence punishable under Section 279 of the I.P.C. that the accused was driving the vehicle in a manner so rash or negligent as to endanger human life or likely to cause hurt to any other person. Further, the prosecution has also failed to establish that the vehicle in question was being driven by the accused at the relevant time. Consequently, the charge under Section 304 A of the I.P.C. has also not been established. State v. Krishan Gopal FIR No. 171/2009 P.S.: Chhawla Page 5 of 6
12. In these circumstances, in the considered opinion of this Court, the prosecution has miserably failed to prove its case against the accused. Accordingly, the Krishan Gopal is acquitted of the offences punishable under Section 279/304 A IPC.
13. File be consigned to Record Room.
Announced in open Court on 23.10.2013 (MANIKA) Metropolitan Magistrate-05 (South-West), Dwarka Courts, New Delhi 23.10.2013 State v. Krishan Gopal FIR No. 171/2009 P.S.: Chhawla Page 6 of 6