Click here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
A court in Pune dealing with cases under Motor Vehicles Act has handed a unique sentence to a 28-year-old man caught drunk driving in July. In addition to a fine, the court ordered him to print 1,000 flyers on the dangers of drunk driving and personally distribute them at traffic signals.
The novel sentence has been handed to the driver under Section 23 of Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 which empowers courts to award community service and defines it as the work which the court may order a convict to perform as a form of punishment that benefits the community, for which he shall not be entitled to any remuneration. A case in this regard was filed on July 22 by Hinjewadi Traffic Division under the Pimpri Chinchwad police. The police had caught the 28-year-old driver while driving under influence of alcohol and had booked him under Section 185 of the Motor Vehicle Act which pertains to driving by a drunken person.
On Monday, the court in Pune which hears cases under Motor Vehicles Act found the driver guilty of the charges against him.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) for Pimpri Chinchwad, Vivek Patil said, “The court has fined the driver Rs 10,000. In addition, under the provisions of Section 23 of BNSS, the court has ordered the driver to print 1,000 flyers on the dangers of drunk driving and personally distribute them at traffic signals while giving them information about the law concerned. If the driver fails to pay the fine, he will have to serve a simple imprisonment of 10 days.” Officials said the driver has been ordered to distribute 1,000 flyers in five days while the local traffic division has been asked to submit a compliance report on this.
DCP Patil added, “With an aim to reduce the number of accidents in drunk driving cases, the Pimpri Chinchwad police have undertaken special intensive drives. Under these drives, the drivers found driving under influence are booked and prosecuted. Between January and September this year, 2,984 drivers and riders have been booked and cases have been filed against them. We will continue to conduct these actions in the coming days.”
In September, a court in Pune had sentenced two men to 15 days of simple imprisonment along with a fine after they were found guilty of drunk driving apart from other traffic violations.
As part of the procedure, the persons caught with a higher-than-permissible limit of alcohol in breath analyser tests are booked and are prosecuted in a designated court for punitive action.
Section 185 of Motor Vehicle Act pertains to driving by a drunken person or by a person under the influence of drugs. If a person has in blood, alcohol level exceeding 30 milligram per 100 ml of blood as detected in a test by a breath analyser or is under this influence of a drug to such an extent as to be incapable of exercising proper control over the vehicle, the person is booked under these provisions.
For the first offence, the provision attracts punishment of imprisonment for a term up to six months or with a fine or both. For the second or subsequent offence, if committed within three years of the commission of the previous similar offence, imprisonment may go up to two years or fine or both.
