Judgment

DUA, J.:- Jagdish Chander appellant has preferred this appeal by special leave from the judgment and order of the High Court of Delhi dated September 11, 1969 dismissing the appellant s revision from the judgment and order of the Additional Sessions Judge, Delhi Dated September 7, 1966 dismissing his appeal against the order of a Magistrate Ist Class, New Delhi Dated April 30, 1966 convicting him for an offence under S. 304-A, I.P.C. and sentencing him to rigorous imprisonment for six months and a fine of Rs. 500/-.

2. The, occurrence giving rise to these criminal proceedings against the appellant took place on April 20, 1965 at about 8.50 a.m. According to the prosecution version, the appellant was driving his auto-scooter rickshaw No. DLR 5614 and was proceeding from the side of Yusaf Sarai when near the D.T.U. Bus Stand Engineering College Hauz Khas I.I.T. he suddenly turned to his right towards Mehrauli Road. Apparently, he wanted to turn back and reverse his direction. A truck No. DLG 8468 driven by one Labh Singh was coming from the opposite direction, that is, from Mehrauli side. It is said that the appellant turned to his right suddenly without giving any signal and without paying any heed to the traffic on the right. The result was the accident giving rise to the present criminal proceedings. The front bumper on the left side of the truck struck the rear left side of the body of the appellant s scooter-rickshaw. As a result of this impact the appellant lost control of his scooter-rickshaw and swerved to the right and after crossing the edge of the road, crashed into a tree under which Smt. Vidya Sharma was standing with her baby in her arms and her brother Sat Pal standing by her side. On being hit by the appellant s scooter-rickshaw, Smt. Vidya Sharma could not keep control over her baby who fell down on the ground and received injuries. Smt. Vidya Sharma and Sat Pal also sustained simple hurts but the injuries suffered by the baby were serious and indeed they proved fatal resulting in the hospital soon after the occurrence in question.

3. Both, Labh Singh, driver the truck and the appellant, were challaned and convicted by the learned Magistrate under Section 304 A, I. P.C. The trial court sentenced both of them to rigorous imprisonment for 6 months each and also to a fine they were both directed to undergo further rigorous imprisonment for 2 months each. Out of the fine, if realised, Rs. 500/-were directed to be paid to the parents of the deceased child.

4. Both the convicted drivers appealed to the Sessions Court. The learned Additional Sessions Judge, somewhat surprisingly, holding that he was not in a position to stop the truck instantaneously with a view to avoid the collision of the two vehicles because the appellant had all of a sudden brought his vehicle in front of the truck after taking a turn at a high speed. The Addl. Sessions Judge also observed that the back portion of the appellant s scooter-rickshaw was not seriously damaged by the impact with the truck and the vehicle remained in a normal functioning condition. On this premise, the appellate Judge took the view that it was in order to save himself that the appellant took his vehicle towards the kacha side of the road in a state of utter confusion, his vehicle having got out of his control. In spite of this, however, according to the appellate Court, Jagdish Chander was in a position to avoid hitting Smt. Vidya Sharma. The scooter-rickshaw, to use the words of the Addl. Sessions Judge "was not thrown towards the tree because of the violent push given by the truck but...... it was actually driven by the accused Jagdish Chander towards the direction where Smt. Vidya Sharma and her brother were standing". The entire occurrence in this case, according to the Sessions Judge, had taken place as a result of the rashness or negligence of the appellant because he had decided to take a turn in a sudden manner at a high speed in the middle of the road and