25 years on, Mumbai court acquits man charged for slapping BEST driver

The prosecution listed and examined only two witnesses against 48-year-old accused, both who said they could not identify accused after all these years,

In a case that depicts the typical state of affairs of India’s legal system, it took almost a quarter of a century to complete the trial of a Borivli resident charged with slapping a Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) bus driver during a road rage incident in August 1993.

Incidentally, the prosecution listed and examined only two witnesses against 48-year-old accused, Chetan Shah, but neither of them were able to identify the man who slapped the driver.

On August 31, 1993, BEST bus driver Manabhai Baniya was driving towards Shanti Ashram, and had reached Maharashtra Lane when the incident took place around 1.50pm. He was driving slowly as vehicles were parked on either side of the road, when a Maruti car entered the lane from the opposite direction.

As per the prosecution, Shah, who was driving the car, was miffed as the road was blocked.

The two got into a verbal spat, and as the argument escalated, Shah allegedly stepped out of the car and slapped the driver across the cheek. Baniya’s cheek started to bleed, the prosecution claimed.

Baniya then filed a case at the Borivli police station under section 332 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from duty – a crime that attracts a punishment of three years in jail.

During the trial, the prosecution examined Suresh Rane, the then bus conductor, and Maruti Rathod, the then assistant police inspector who had investigated the case.

Rane told the court that neither could he remember the incident, nor was he able to identify the accused as the incident took place in 1993.

Similarly, Rathod said that he was not able to identify the accused as too much time had passed.

“Both witnesses could not identify the accused therefore, their evidence is not sufficient to prove beyond reasonable doubt that this accused [Shah] slapped the informant [bus driver],” ruled metropolitan magistrate AB Shendge.

After over 25 years, the trial ended in April this year, with the court absolving Shah of his alleged crime.