Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Virender Bhat set aside the 15-day jail term awarded to Patel Nagar resident Akhilesh Kumar saying imprisonment will leave an "indelible blot" on his career and seriously affect the upbringing of his two minor children as his wife has already died.
The court released Kumar on probation and asked him to do the community service in Sai Baba Mandir at Najafgarh Road here once a week for two months.
"The sentencing policy followed in India is based upon reformative theory and not on retributive theory. The purpose of sentence is and should be to reform a criminal so as to convert him into a law-abiding citizen...
"While dealing with petty cases such as the present one, wherever it is felt necessary, the principle contained in almost all the religious scriptures that 'forgiveness is the best punishment' should be invoked," the court said.
The court's order came on Kumar's plea challenging the magistrate's July 30 order sentencing him to 15 days in jail for driving his auto rickshaw in an inebriated state. The trial court had also imposed a fine of Rs 3,300 on him.
The alcohol content in his blood was found to be 467 mg/100 ml against minimum permissible limit of 30 mg/100ml.
The sessions court showed leniency to the convict even while observing that the menace of drunken driving is on rise day by day.
"Many innocent lives are lost on the Delhi roads by such irresponsible and unlawful act. A drunk driver is a threat to all the road users. He poses a great risk not only to his own life but to those of others, who are on the road along with him," the court said.
The judge also asked Kumar to file a certificate from the managing committee of this temple after completion of the two months social service.
