It's driver's duty to take care of other users of road: Court

New Delhi, Jan 15: A Delhi court has awarded eight months jail term to a man in a 2001 case of rash and negligent driving in which a woman pedestrian had died after being hit by a blueline bus, observing that it was his duty while driving on public way to take care of other users of the road.

Additional Sessions Judge Narinder Kumar pronounced the order on an revision appeal filed by convict Rajender against the order of a magisterial court which had awarded one year imprisonment to him in November, 2014.

"It was the duty of the accused (Rajender), while driving the bus on public way, to take care of other users of the road. He could easily see the pedestrian who was in the middle of the road. "From the manner in which he hit the pedestrian in the middle of the road, it can safely be said that he was negligently driving the bus on public way," the court said, while upholding the trial court's order on conviction.

The sessions court, however, reduced the jail term to eight months after noting that he was not a previous convict and that he faced trial for 14 years. According to the prosecution, on July 9, 2001, Delhi native Rajender, while driving a blueline bus in rash and negligent manner, hit a pedestrian. The blue line buses were involved in a large number of accidents and were phased out in 2010.

The accused was apprehended while he was trying to run and an FIR was registered. The victim was taken to Trauma Centre where she later succumbed to her injuries. Rajender, however, had denied involvement in the crime claiming he did not cause the accident and rather saw the woman lying at the spot when he reached there.

PTI