Acquitting auto driver, court says commuters should be cautious

A magistrate court in Vikhroli acquitted an auto driver of rash driving leading to grievous injury to a young boy commuting in a share auto with his family. The court in its order stated that his aunt, who was commuting with him did not take enough care to see that his leg was not out of the share-auto and that the carelessness led to the accident.

The child was sitting on the lap of his cousin sister, whose mother was also commuting in the vehicle and had lodged the complaint. Another sibling was also commuting in the share auto that headed from Naidu Colony in Pant Nagar to Ghatkopar railway station. The boy’s aunt Rekha Jadhav, had complained that the auto that came from the opposite side was driven rashly, hit their auto and injured the right leg of her nephew.

The auto driver Bhagwan Bhambure had been charged under Section 279 (rash driving) and Section 338 (negligent act leading to grievous hurt) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The court noted that the child must have been sitting on the right side of the auto where it is mandatory to fix a rod for safety. “Still if a vehicle coming from the opposite side has hit, it means to some extent his leg would have been out of the auto,” it observed, adding that witnesses have stated in their cross-examination that the road from the colony to the station is crowded.

Considering that the road being crowded and the vehicle was a shareauto, the court said that the complainant and witnesses were seated in a congested manner.

Metropolitan Magistrate VK Umale said in the order that in a city like Mumbai, auto commuters should take care of their safety and sit carefully.

The court noted that while the complainant has claimed that the accused’s auto had hit them from the opposite side, neither of the vehicles were damaged nor were other commuters injured.

Magistrate Umale held that the complainant and other witnesses, including their auto-driver and the child’s cousins, had not taken sufficient care when the vehicle was moving and that out of carelessness, had let the young boy’s leg be out of the auto, which led to the accident and he got injured.