Man gets 4-month prison after his dog bites neighbour

Mumbai's Rishab Patel sentenced to 4 months in prison, fined ₹4000 for his dog biting neighbor in lift; court found him negligent despite his defense.

MUMBAI: A 40-year-old resident of Worli, Rishab Patel, was sentenced to a four-month imprisonment and directed to pay a ₹4000 fine by the Dadar metropolitan magistrate court in a seven-year-old case where Patel’s dog had bitten his neighbour in their apartment lift. The incident was reported on February 1, 2018 and the order was passed on May 21, 2025.

Man gets 4-month prison after his dog bites neighbour

The victim, Ramik Shah, his son, and his househelp were going down in the lift from the fourth floor when Patel entered the lift with his dog on the third floor. Shah told Patel that his son was afraid of dogs and requested him to either leave the pet dog out or to let them get off the lift. However, Patel dragged his dog into the lift, an argument ensued, and the dog bit Shah’s left forearm. After getting treated, he reported the incident to Worli police.

Worli police registered a First Information Report (FIR) and prosecuted Patel. At the trial, Patel’s advocate argued that his client was falsely accused and the delay in collecting the CCTV footage allowed him to be acquitted. The court was not convinced and convicted the accused.

Based on available evidence, the court said that the accused had ignored Shah’s request and knowingly refrained from giving orders to his pet dog that would prevent any danger to human life.

A judicial magistrate of the first class added that the one-year-old son of the victim was present in the lift and said, “He did not care about the informant or his son and dragged his pet inside the lift, which is normally meant for human use.” While sentencing the dog owner, the court added that the victim might have suffered both physically and mentally.