Chandigarh, February 21
Chetesh Gupta, Judicial Magistrate First Class, Chandigarh, acquitted a Sector 7 resident in an alleged case of rash driving and causing death by negligence after the prosecution failed to prove the charges.
On a complaint of Radha Krishan Joshi, a resident of Sector 41, the police had registered a case against Harpreet Singh Chahal.
The complainant had stated that on April 22 last year, he and his wife Chandni (70) were going to Sector 24 on separate vehicles. He had gone a little ahead of his wife. When he looked back and could not see his wife, he returned and found people gathered near a petrol station in Sector 37. He came to know that his wife was knocked down by an unidentified vehicle and she had been taken to the GMSH-16 for treatment. However, she could not survive.
During investigation, the police arrested the accused. After recording statements of witnesses and completion of the probe, a challan against the accused was presented in court.
Finding a prima facie case for commission of offences punishable under Sections 279, 304-A and 201 of the IPC, the accused was chargesheeted to which he pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.
While the prosecution claimed that it had proved the case beyond a shadow of doubt, the counsel for the accused argued that he was not involved in the accident.
The court observed that the complainant failed to identify the accused. The court observed that another witness said no accident took place in his presence. In view of this, there was no incriminating evidence on record to connect the accused with the commission of crime.
Hence, the accused was acquitted of the charges framed against him, said the court.
