Bombay high court cuts killer auto-driver’s jail term to 3 months

The Bombay high court has reduced to three months a two-year sentence awarded to an auto-rickshaw driver for death due to rash and negligent driving.

Dahanu resident Praksah Raut had been sentenced by a magistrate to two years in prison for causing death by rash driving. In his order, the magistrate had made it clear that he wanted to make an example of Raut, as auto-drivers in Dahanu, Thane district, were apparently causing plenty of accidents due to rash driving and flooding the court with accident cases. So he awarded the maximum, “exemplary sentence” of two years.

When Raut appealed to the sessions court, the additional sessions judge at Palghar only confirmed the magistrate’s order.

Then Raut turned to the high court, where Justice RC Chavan, on January 11, 2011, reduced the sentence to three months, observing that Raut “was not a spoil brat of some rich man driving a posh car recklessly”. Justice Chavan noted that the magistrate had rightly convicted Raut “but the reasons for exemplary sentence are not sound.” He also termed it “unfortunate” that the additional sessions judge did not question the sentencing by the magistrate.

Justice Chavan said that the magistrate, in deciding on the sentence, should have considered whether the convict had previous criminal history and was of such an age that he could correct himself if released without heavy sentence.

He noted that Raut was 29 at the time of the accident, and that “the applicant (Raut) was himself injured in the accident since the auto-rickshaw overturned. The applicant had no previous conviction.” Therefore, in view of this, it was not necessary for the magistrate to sentence Raut for two years. He maintained Raut’s conviction, reduced the sentence, and directed him to pay Rs1 lakh to the victim’s mother.