Justice May Be Done

JUSTICE MAY BE DONE

22 Dec 2008, 0208 hrs IST, Abhinav Sharma, TNN

JAIPUR: Alarmed over chief minister Ashok Gehlot's intervention, city police are now looking afresh in the infamous hit-and-run case involving
Jaipur royal scion Vijit Singh, whose Volkswagen Touareg V6 TDI, he was driving, had hit a Kota girl to death on last Monday.

Sources said that the investigation will now concentrated on the fact that whether Vijit's offence too need to be booked under stringent provision of section 304 part II of the IPC as was done in the other infamous cases of Salman Khan, Sanjeev Nanda's BMW and Alistair Pereira's case.

When contacted the new investigating officer Dilip Sharma told ToI, " I have been entrusted with the investigation in the matter on Saturday and we will consider all the aspects so that the justice may be done. Any addition of a serious punitive offence can be done at our end at any point of time during the course of investigation after seeking appropriate approval form the higher authorities."

Undoubtly, the police has a right to add or remove any of the alleged offence claimed to have been committed by an accused during the investigation but Singh will not be arrested unless the police will move the court for cancellation of Bail granted by them to Vijit.

"The addition of section 304 part II will remain a mere paper formality unless the bail is cancelled. The provision contained in section 304-II amounts to a henious crime against the society and such a person can not be let loose as such the offence has been made non-baillable, and in order to arrest the accuse the prosecution will have to move a bail cancellation application before the court first. However, the charge sheet may be filed even without seeking cancellation of bail. So if the police wants to show its geniuneness in the investigation the bail would have to be got cancelled first, " said A.K. Gupta a leading criminal lawyer.

The media reports followed by agitation by the students in Kota and the concern shown by Chief minister Ashok Gehlot in the matter on Saturday in asking officials to see that proper justice is done forced the police to searching possibilities to book Singh under 304-II.

Interestingly the prosecution has shut its eyes to the leading case of Alister Pereira (23) - a Mumbai based business tycoon who was earlier awarded 'lenient' sentence of just 6 months in hit and run case in November 2006, was later on punished with three years rigorous imprisonment by Bombay high court and the charges under 304 A were converted to 304 part II of the IPC by the high court.

Pereira's car mowed down 15 labourers sleeping on the pavement in suburban Bandra, killing seven of them in year 2006. The Bombay High court had then noted that there was no need to sympathise with Pereira (23), who ran over construction workers on the night of November 12, 2006, on Carter Road at Bandra.

The Bombay high court had then observed, "The record of the case exhibits the most callous attitude on the part of the accused. He acted in a most irresponsible manner, breached not only law but even social obligations and failed to take requisite precautions and drove the car in a rash and negligent manner."

Following Pereira's Case the Delhi high court in infamous Sanjeev Nanda's case, where a sting operation revealed the senior advocates to bribe the prosecution to win over the witnesses, has observed ,"A drunken driver not only puts his life into risk but also puts the life of other people at stake. Such driver is not less that a live human bomb, which prepares to blast himself and other innocent people on roads."

While pronouncing the judgment, the court said, where there was a clear proof of offenders indulging in winning over witnesses, a new principle of sentencing had to be devised to award a higher quantum of punishment and awarded maximum punishment specified under the code which was 10 years Rigereous imprisonment.

Like Nanda's case Vijit has also tried to win over the eye witness Abhimanyu Swami who has openly come against him and chased him after informing the police. In a similar fashion the bollywood superstar Salman Khan was also charged under 304 part II of IPC for running over the persons sleeping of foothpath. But it is hard to digest that even after a settled position of law why the local police is not daring to book the accuse under proper provision of IPC.

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