Additional Sessions Judge Hemani Malhotra upheld the six-month jail term awarded to convict Vijay Yadav, a Bihar native, by a metropolitan magistrate while relying on the testimony of a traffic police constable and medical records.
"The courts have always deprecated the galloping trend in road accidents in India and its devastating consequences," the judge said, adding, "I am of the view that the appellant/ convict has been rightly convicted under sections 279/304A of the IPC. I have no hesitation to dismiss the appeal."
According to the prosecution, constable Gajendra, who was on duty, had spotted Vijay driving a Tata Sumo car in a rash and negligent manner near Rajghat on September 5, 2003. The car hit a scooter which was being ridden by victim Ramesh Kumar and dragged it for some distance.
Due to the impact, Ramesh sustained multiple injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital where he died during treatment, it said.
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He also contended that it was because of the negligence and rash driving of the victim that the accident occurred.
His contentions were, however, rejected by the court which relied on the constable's testimony and the medical records.
"It (argument of the convict) does not hold any water as the careful scrutiny of the cop's testimony reveals that he is a reliable and a trustworthy witness and that he was present at the spot at the time of the accident," it said.
The magistrate had on November 5, 2015 sentenced him to six months in jail for the offences.