Man threatens DTC bus conductor with knife, gets one year jail

New Delhi: A man has been sentenced to one year in jail by a court here for threatening a DTC bus conductor with a knife on being asked to buy a ticket.

Additional Sessions Judge Manoj Jain handed down the jail term to Prakash, a north Delhi resident, while holding him guilty under relevant provisions of the Arms Act.

The court, which also held his accomplice, Sunil, guilty of criminally intimidating the conductor, jailed him for two months, the period already spent by him behind bars.

"Possession of knife cannot be taken in a nonchalant manner. Convict Prakash had no business to possess such button actuated knife much less using the same. He had taken out such knife when conductor had asked him to buy a ticket.

"The minimum sentence here is of one year which can be reduced if special reasons exist. In the case in hand, I do not find any special reason which may compel me to reduce such minimum sentence," the judge said.

The court, however, said that it was not a case of robbery as alleged by the prosecution, saying the knife was used as the convicts wanted a free ride.

"The knife was not shown to extort anything at all or to rob anyone. It was shown so that conductor does not make demand for money from the accused for purchasing the tickets. Both the accused had no intention or motive to commit any robbery. They merely wanted a free ride...," it said.

The judge also pulled up prosecution for "misinforming" the court that convicts were involved in other robbery cases.

"I would like to highlight that the manner in which the record of previous involvements of the convicts has been placed on record by the police is not, at all, in good taste.

"Prosecution has rather tried to prejudice the mind of the Court by (mis) informing that convicts are having various other involvements related to robbery and snatching and that such cases are still pending trial," the judge said.

The court noted that when the matter was scrutinized in depth, it was found that this happens to be their first case in which they have been held guilty.

According to police, the convicts boarded a DTC bus from Ashok Vihar here and when the conductor asked them to purchase the ticket, Prakash took out a knife and threatened him.

It said that the duo also tried to snatch money bag from the conductor, and hearing the noise, the driver stopped the bus and informed the police.

Both the convicts, who were arrested from the spot, pleaded not guilty and claimed the quarrel took place because the conductor was overcharging them.