In two separate cases, a magistrate’s court has recently convicted two motorcyclists on charges of rash and negligent driving for riding along the wrong side of the road. Last year, the Mumbai police began booking motorcyclists for driving along the wrong side of the road, under sections including 279 (rash and negligent driving) and 336 (rashly or negligent act as to endanger human life or the personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code. While the courts have mostly acquitted motorcyclists in such cases for want of evidence or because of the proper procedure not being followed, two men were recently found guilty of the two sections and fined Rs 1,500 each. The court took into consideration that the accused, during the state of Criminal Procedure Code section 313 (where an accused is given an opportunity to explain any circumstances appearing in the evidence against him), admitted that they were driving along the wrong side. “In the present matter, the accused specifically admitted that he was driving a motorcycle from the wrong side, and his statement, though not a substantive piece of evidence, can be used to accept the evidence of the prosecution,” the court said. In one of the cases, the accused was booked for driving along the wrong side in Nana Chowk, Tardeo. In the other case, the motorcyclist was booked by the Malabar Hill police. Both incidents took place in March 2022. “Driving a vehicle from the wrong side is a rash and negligent act and due to which personal safety of others is endangered,” the court said in its order last week. The court said that it was giving the accused a chance to rectify their mistake, considering their age and the nature of the offence, and therefore not sending them behind bars.
