Anoop Ram v. State of Punjab
Case brief
What is this about?
Themes: Sections 279 & 304-A IPC; rash and negligent driving; fatal road accident (truck No. HP40741073, Zirakpur side; Civil Hospital, Panchkula; deceased Ram Naval; complainant Dharminder); conviction upheld on independent reappraisal of ocular, postmortem and mechanical evidence despite conviction going unchallenged; sentence reduced to the period already undergone; mitigation on grounds of 28-year pendency since 16.07.1998, senior-citizen age (~63), partial custody served, and suspension on 21.04.2009 with subsequent good conduct; fine enhanced to Rs.1 lakh payable to the legal representatives of the deceased through the Chief Judicial Magistrate within two months; deemed-dismissal clause on non-deposit of fine; revision partly allowed; amicus curiae remuneration Rs.20,000/-; Patiala courts; State of Punjab.
What did the court decide?
With the modifications, the revision petition is partly allowed and the impugned judgments of conviction are upheld; the sentence is reduced to the period already undergone (more than two months of one-year RI), and the fine is enhanced to Rs.1 lakh, depositable with the concerned Chief Judicial Magistrate within two months for payment to the legal representatives of the deceased, failing which the petition stands deemed dismissed; amicus curiae fee of Rs.20,000/- sanctioned to Mr. Nayandeep Rana.