Voicing concern over increasing incidents of drunk driving, a Delhi court has said that this "menace" has been plaguing the national capital and the problem should be dealt with "sternly".
"The menace of drunk driving has been plaguing the city for quite a long time. Despite every possible steps being taken by the state government as well as traffic regulating authorities, there are no signs of decrease in the incidents of drunk driving. This problem has to be dealt with sternly," Additional Sessions Judge Sanjay Bansal said.
The court's observations came while deciding the appeals of four persons, who were convicted and sentenced to varying jail terms of five and 10 days by a magistrate for driving their vehicles in a drunken state.
The court, however, reduced the jail terms of Tasleem Khan, Muntiaz Ahmed, Dinesh Singh and Arvind Kumar Verma to imprisonment till the rising of the court.
ASJ Bansal took the lenient view and reduced their jail term considering that they were first time offenders and they had already deposited the fine amount.
Tasleem and Muntiaz were sentenced to 10 days in jail by a magisterial court while Dinesh and Arvind were awarded five days imprisonment each.
The four men had pleaded guilty before the trial court. They were convicted for driving their vehicles under influence of liquor and the alcohol content found in their blood was more than the permissible limits.
The trial court had also imposed a fine of Rs 5,200, Rs 2,000, Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 on Tasleem, Muntiaz, Dinesh and Arvind respectively. It had also suspended Dinesh and Arvind's driving licence for six months.
They had sought setting aside of the sentence given by the trial court on the ground that they had to support their families and it was their first conviction.
