Panchkula: Court lets off accused due to lack of evidence

According to the prosecution, Pinki, wife of the deceased Udaivir, and resident of Haripur, Sector 4, filed a complaint on June 2, 2018, claiming that her husband died due to negligence of his friend Parvinder Singh

Nearly seven years after a Zirakpur woman alleged that her husband had died due to rash driving and negligence by his friend, a local court has acquitted the accused for want of evidence.

During trial, Pinki deposed that her husband’s death was due to Parvinder’s negligence and alleged that he had forced him to drink. (HT Photo for representation)

The court also noted that there was an unexplained delay of about five months in lodging the FIR, which further weakened the case. According to the prosecution, Pinki, wife of the deceased, Udaivir, and resident of Haripur, Sector 4, filed a complaint on June 2, 2018, claiming that her husband died due to negligence of his friend Parvinder Singh. According to the complaint, on January 31, 2018, Udaivir had gone to Zirakpur with friends Parvinder and Robid Sharma.

Pinki alleged that her husband left that night after receiving a phone call and never returned. The next day, Pinki claimed, she was informed that her husband is dead and his body was kept at the Sector-6 civil hospital. Upon reaching the hospital, Pinki was “informed by someone” that her husband had consumed liquor with Parvinder and sustained injuries after falling from a vehicle.

She alleged that instead of taking Udaivir to the hospital, Parvinder fled the scene, leaving her husband unattended in the vehicle, resulting in his death.

On her complaint, filed nearly five months after the incident, and FIR was lodged and Parvinder was arrested on June 18, 2018. During trial, Pinki deposed that her husband’s death was due to Parvinder’s negligence and alleged that he had forced him to drink. However, the court observed that her testimony was based on hearsay since she was not present at the spot. The court further noted that there was no direct evidence to establish that Parvinder was driving the vehicle rashly or negligently at the time of the alleged accident.

The court of chief judicial magistrate also highlighted the unexplained delay of about five months in lodging the FIR, which weakened the prosecution’s case. “From any angle, it can be said that the prosecution has miserably failed to connect the accused with the death of the deceased Udaivir,” the court noted.

Counsel for the accused, advocate Sandeep Kumar Loura, argued that there was no eyewitness to the incident and relied upon findings of a Motor Accident Claim Tribunal (MACT) which had also raised doubts over the delayed FIR. The court, agreeing with these contentions, acquitted Parvinder Singh, who was facing trial under Section Sections 279 (rash driving) and 304A (causing death by negligence) of the IPC.