New Delhi: A Delhi court has reduced the 10-day jail term of a 31-year-old man, convicted for driving his commercial vehicle in an inebriated state, to one day while observing that he had remorse for the act.
District and Sessions Judge Ravinder Kaur modified the sentence of Bijender Kumar, a Gurgaon resident, but upheld his conviction, saying driving a vehicle in a drunken condition not only endangers the life of the driver but also the life of other road users.
"The appellant (Kumar) was heavily drunk as alcohol content as per analysis report was found to be 440 mg per 100 ml which is extremely higher than the permissible limit ie 30 mg per 100 ml.
"It is a known fact that driving a vehicle in a drunken condition not only endangers the life of the driver but also the life of other road users. In the facts and circumstances of the case, since the appellant is remorseful of his act, while maintaining the conviction, sentence order is partially modified and reduced to one day simple imprisonment," the judge said.
The court's observation came on Kumar's appeal against a magisterial court's May 12 order sentencing him to 10 days simple imprisonment and fine of Rs 2,000 under section 185 (drunken driving) of Motor Vehicle Act.
In his appeal seeking setting aside of the jail term, Kumar had contended that the sentence imposed was too harsh as he was a first time offender.
Seeking mercy from the court, he had said he was the sole breadearner of the family consisting of his ailing parents, wife and two minor children and if he was sent to judicial custody, his family members would suffer irreparable loss, financial hardship and it will be stigma on him.
