‘The dead cannot cry out for justice. It is the duty of the living to do so for them’
SRINAGAR, DEC 26: A court in Ganderbal on Tuesday sentenced a tipper driver to five years simple imprisonment for rash and negligent driving, leading to the death of two persons and injuries to another in the central Kashmir district in 2013.
“The dead cannot cry out for justice. It is the duty of the living to do so for them.” ..“The dead cannot cry out for justice. It is Everyone cherishes the moments of life and desires to live the life. He does not want his death like in ashes”, Chief Judicial Ganderbal and as it also ordered that the convicted person, Mehraj-ud-din Dar, shall pay a compensation amount of Rs 10 lakh to the family members of each of the deceased.
“The punishment must serve as a deterrence in cases of traffic menace where everyday frequency of such occurrences is alarming. The punishment should not only be deterrent but should also be commensurate to alleviate the pain of victim families,” the court observed, adding, “A punishment without any measure of compensation to the victim families shall be useless.”
While Section 304-A RPC prescribes a minimum punishment of two years in case of death caused due to a rash or negligent act where the driver does not have the licence, the court said, “..considering the gravity of the offence and the conduct of the accused who fled from the spot, the manner in which the offence has been committed and the object of deterrence of the sentence, five years simple imprisonment shall be proportionate.”
Accordingly, the court sentenced him to simple imprisonment of five years for the offence under Section 304-A RPC. The court also sentenced him to one-month simple imprisonment for the offence under Section 279 RPC.
According to the prosecution on 11 December 2013, one tipper (JK16/4098) driven by Mehraj-ud-din Dar from Ganderbal to Zazna hit one motorcycle on which three persons were riding. The trio Ishfaq Ahmad, Abid Bashir Wani and Adil Majeed Shah, all residents of Ganderbal, were injured and shifted to SKIMS Soura. Ishfaq had expired on the same day while Wani succumbed to injuries on 19 December 2013.
