‘High speed can’t be the sole criterion to prove rash driving’

HC REVERSED THE CONVICTION OF A MAN FOR AN ACCIDENT THAT KILLED EIGHT IN 2010

MUMBAI: High speed of the vehicle can’t be the only criterion to ascertain that the driver was rash and negligent, the Bombay high court (HC) said, while reversing the conviction of an Aurangabad resident, Sanjay Sakpal, for an accident that led to eight deaths.

Justice Vibha Kankanwadi said a number of other aspects should be taken into consideration to check if the driver was rash and negligent, like width and condition of the road, number of vehicles plying on both sides etc. “All these are important to arrive at a conclusion of rashness or negligence,” she said.

On February 21, 2010, Sapkal, driving a crowded pick-up van from Phalambri to Aurangabad, crashed into a truck coming from the opposite direction, resulting in serious injuries to 31 passengers. On August 24, 2016, an additional sessions judge at Aurangabad convicted Sakpal for offences punishable under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and Section 66 of the Motor Vehicles Act. He was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

Sakpal moved the high court. Justice Kankanwadi accepted contentions that the prosecution has to prove the surrounding circumstances, situation at the spot.

The judge said, none of the witnesses, mostly injured passengers, said that he was driving in high speed or in a rash and negligent manner, except the one who stated Sakpal was trying to overtake the vehicle ahead of him. The spot panchnama indicated that actual collision had taken place in the middle of the 22-feet wide road.