BMW case: HC rejects Sanjeev Nanda's bail plea

New Delhi, Oct 5: On Saturday, Oct 4 the Delhi High refused to grant bail to Sanjeev Nanda, convicted for mowing down six persons while driving his BMW in a drunken state. Sanjeev, grandson of former Indian Navy chief Admiral S M Nanda, who was sentenced to five years' rigorous imprisonment by a lower court for mowing down six people while driving his BMW in 1999.

"The drunkard driver not only risks his life but endangers the lives of others as well. Such a driver is no less than a live human bomb prepared to blast himself along with innocent people on roads and pavements,'' noted Justice Kailash Gambhir in an unusually strongly worded bail plea order. The court also observed that the incident could have easily been mistaken as a site of a bomb blast. "Six persons were being killed and their bodies ripped apart with blood all around. The scene was horrendous, gruesome, macabre and heart rending,'' said HC.

The judge also took note of allegations against the convict of him being drunk while driving and obstructing justice during trial, to make it clear that under these circumstances no case for bail was made out.

The court, however, was of the opinion that Nanda's appeal challenging his conviction and quantum of sentence be heard on a day-to-day basis for early disposal of the case and therefore fixed his appeal's hearing on December one this year.

While dismissing Nanda's bail plea, Justice Gambhir also dwelt upon the problem of drunk driving leading to traffic offences and suggested changes in law to curb driving under the influence of liquor. Noting that a "drunkard driver not only risks his life but endangers the lives of others as well'' HC added, "This court is of the view that it's high time that legislature takes a second opinion at the present law in order to prevent drunken driving which is taking a toll of precious human lives.''

"Alcohol has been found to play a major role in social ills in almost all countries across the world but foremost amongst the ills produced by alcohol is its role in traffic crashes,'' the court further observed.

OneIndia News