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The Kerala High Court has held that a settlement arrived at between parties in a road accident caused due to rash and negligent driving would not be a ground to set aside the conviction of the accused.
A Bench of Justice Jobin Sebastian passed the order while considering a criminal revision plea challenging a judgment convicting the petitioner for rash driving and causing death by negligence. The accident dates back to August 2004 on the Kollam-Alappuzha NH, where the two-wheeler of the accused collided with another two-wheeler ridden by the complainant’s husband, who succumbed to injuries.
The trial court had convicted the accused and sentenced him to a year’s simple imprisonment, besides suspending his driving licence for six months. The appellate court confirmed the sentence, after which he approached the High Court, contending that the lower courts had failed to properly appreciate the evidence. Furthermore, he sought leniency, citing that the matter had been settled amicably by the parties and that the victim’s legal heirs had received compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act.
The court also noted that the testimony of two eyewitnesses to the accident had consistently established that the accused was riding at a high speed and in a rash and negligent manner. It further held that an offence under Section 304A of the IPC is non-compoundable. Neither can it be treated as a private dispute since such offences have a broader social impact.
The court, however, added that some leniency could be shown without altering the finding of guilt since the parties had settled their disputes with regard to the accident case and since compensation was awarded. The court went on to allow the revision petition in part and modified the sentence under Section 304A to imprisonment until the rising of the court, and ₹10,000 to the wife of the deceased. The revision petitioner ought to appear before the trial court on September 2 to receive the sentence.
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