It is the responsibility of every driver to be in full control of his vehicle and to drive at a speed so as not to endanger lives of others, a Delhi court has observed while upholding jail term of a bus driver whose "reckless" driving led to the death of a scooterist.
District and Sessions Judge Ina Malhotra dismissed the appeal of bus driver Jai Singh against a magisterial court's order awarding him six months in jail for the offence of rash and negligent driving and causing death of a person.
"The bus was being driven at high speed in a rash and negligent manner and had hit the scooterist. The accident took place at an intersection where a vehicle is supposed to be at a speed which can easily be controlled. His inability to control his vehicle speaks for the rash and negligent driving.
"It's the responsibility of every driver to be in full control of his vehicle and to drive at a speed so as not to endanger the lives of others on the road. The driving of a commercial vehicle appeared to be reckless as the appellant could not avoid the scooterist at the intersection," the judge said.
The judge also upheld the fine of Rs 5,000 imposed on him by the trial court.
While refusing to allow the driver's plea, the court relied on the testimony of an eye witness who narrated the incident saying the bus, driven in a rash and negligent manner, hit the victim Tirath Singh, who was on a scooter, near Lodhi road-Nizammuddin crossing here on the afternoon of January 10, 2006.
"The examination in chief of eyewitness is clear and categorical. He witnessed the incident, being present on the spot," it said.
In his plea, the convicted bus driver had contended that the eyewitness, in his cross examination, had said that he was present at the accident spot till 11.30 AM but the accident took place at 2.30 PM.
He also contended that the person who informed the police about the accident was not examined throughout the trial.
The court, however, rejected all the contentions and upheld his sentence.
