Hans News Service Bengaluru

Ina significant observation on humanitarian conduct after road accidents, the High Court of Karnataka has reduced the jail sentence of a driver convicted in a fatal accident case after noting that he did not flee the spot and instead personally shifted the injured victim to hospital in his own car.

Justice V. Srishananda passed the order while hearing a petition filed by Riyaz Ahmed, a resident of Pachhikere in Dakshina Kannada district. The court modified the one-year imprisonment imposed by a trial court to imprisonment till the rising of the court, effectively reducing the sentence to one day.

The High Court observed that immediately after the accident, the driver had acted responsibly by taking the victim to hospital instead of escaping from the scene. The court considered this conduct as a major mitigating factor while deciding the quantum of punishment.

The bench also took note of the petitioner’s personal circumstances. Records before the court revealed that Riyaz Ahmed himself later met with another accident and underwent surgery in which a rod was inserted in his right leg. Due to his physical condition, he is reportedly unable to continue professional driving and is currently doing small jobs for survival.

During the hearing, the court suggested additional compensation for the victim’s family as a condition for reducing the sentence. The family members of the deceased agreed to the proposal.

Accordingly, the court directed Riyaz Ahmed to pay an additional compensation of Rs 1 lakh to the wife and son of the deceased. The amount must be paid in two equal instalments of Rs 50,000 each before June 30. The court further clarified that failure to pay the compensation within the stipulated time would automatically restore the earlier one-year jail sentence imposed by the lower court.

The case dates back to July 15, 2015, when Riyaz Ahmed was driving a car near Panambur Beach Road on National Highway-66 between Mangaluru and Udupi. His vehicle hit a pedestrian identified as Anand Shetty.

Immediately after the accident, Riyaz and his son shifted the seriously injured Anand Shetty to hospital in the same vehicle. However, the victim succumbed to injuries the following day.

Earlier, a sessions court in Mangaluru had convicted Riyaz Ahmed and sentenced him to one year of simple imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 5,000. Challenging the order, he later approached the High Court seeking relief.