RATTAN SINGHversusSTATE OF PUNJAB

        846

·A                                  RATrAN SINGH
                                              v.
                                  STATE OF PUNJAB
                                      October 3, 1979
B                  [V. R. KRISHNA !YER AND P. N. SHINGHAL, JJ.]
         Indian Penal Code-S. 304A-Rash and negligen! driving-Sentence of two·
      years rigorous imprisonment-If excessive.
          Sentencing-Punisllfnent for drivinR offences-Policy of correction-Course·
      for better driving-Occasional parole-Legislative action-Necessity.
C         The petitioner, a driver, of a heavy automobile, was sentenced to two years'
      rigorous imprisonment under s. 304A IPC for having killed a scooterist by his
      rash and negligent driving of the vehicle. The petitioner"s plea that sGmeone else
      was responsible for the accident wa's rejected by the trial and ~ppellate courts ..
         On the question whether the sentence was excessive,
          HELD : Rashness and negligence are· relative concepts, not absolute abstrac~
D     tions. The law under s. 304A IPC and under the ·rubric of negligence, must
       have regard to the fatal frequency of rash driving of heavy duty vehicles and of
       speeding menaces. It is fair, therefore, to apply the role of res ipsa loquitur ·
       with care. When a life has been lost and the circumstances of driving are harsh.-
     - no compassion can be shown. [848 A-B, D]
         The petitioner deserves no consideration on the q~estion of Conviction and
      sentence. [848 CJ
E
             [(a) Sentencing must haVe Q policy of correction. When the punish--
          ment is fo'r driving offences, the State should attach a c@urse for better
          driving together with a livelier sense of responsibility and in the cases of·
          men with poor families, the State may consider occasional parole and refor-
          matory course. [848 E-F]
p              (b) Victim reparation is still the wnishing point of criminal law. The
          victims of the crime, and the distress of dependents of the prisoner, do not
          attract the attention of the law. This deficiency in the system must be·
          rectified by the Legislature.] [848-G]

         CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION :                 Special    Leave     Petition-
      (Crl.) No. 953 of 1979.
G        From the Judgment and Order dated 13-10-1978 of the Punjab
      and Haryana High Court in Cr!. Revision No. 1021 of 1978.
          A. S. Sohl and R. C. Kohli for the Petitioner.
          The Order of the Court was delivered by                                           . J,
H        KRISHNA IYER, J .·-This petition for special leave under Art. 136
     is by a truck driver whose lethal -hands at the- wheel of an heavy
     automobile has taken the life of a scooterist-a deadly spectacle
            RATTAN SINGH v. PUNJAB     (Krishna Iyer, !.)          847
                                                                            '
becoming so common these days in our towns and cities. This is a A
case w(1ich is more a portent than an event and. is symbolic of the
callous yet tragic traffic chaos and treache~ous unsafely of public
transportation-the besetting sin of our highways which are more
like fatal facilities than means of mobility. More people die of road·
accidents than by most diseases, so much so the Indian highways are
among the top killers of the country. What with frequent complaints B
of the State's misfeasance I
                              in the maintenance of roads in good trim, the
absence of public interest Jit,igation to call state transport to order,
 and the lack of citizens' tort consciousness, and what with the neglect
 in· legislating intC' law no-fault liability and the induction on the roads
 of heavy duty vehicles beyond the .capabilities of the highways system,
 Indian Transport is acquiring a menacing reputation which nwkes c
 travel a tryst with Death. It looks as if traffic regulations are vir-
 tually dead .and police checking mostly absent. By these processes
 of lawlessness, public roads are now lurking death traps. The State
 must rise \o the gravity of the situation and provide road safety
 measures through active police presence beyond frozen indifference,
                                                                             D
 through mobilisation of popular organisations in the field of road
 safety, frightening publicity for gruesome accidents, and promotion of
 strict driving licensing and rigorous vehicle invigilation, lest human
 life should hardly have a chance for highway use.
     These strong observations have become imperative because of the
escalating statistics of road casualties. Many dangerous drivers plead          E
in court, with success, that someone else is at fault. In the present
case, such a plea was put forward with a realistic touch but rightly
rejected by the courts below. Parking of heavy vehicles on the wrong
side, hurrying past traffic signals on the sly, neglecting to keep to
 the left of the road, driving vehicles criss-cross offen in a spirituous       p
state, riding scooters without helmets and with whole families on
pillions, thoughtless cycling and pedestrian jay walking with lawless
ease, suffocating jam-packing of stage carriages and hell-driving of
mini-buses, overloading of trucks with perilous projections and, above
all, police man, if any, proving by helpless presence that law is dead
in this milieu charged with melee-such is the daily, hourly scene               G
 of summ.ons by Death to innocent persons who take to the roads,
believing in the bona fides of the traffic laws. We hope that every
State in India will take note of the human price of highway neglect,
 of State transport violations and the like, with a sombre sensitivity
 and reverence for life.
    This, however, does not excuse the accused from his rash driv-              D
ing of a 'blind Leviathan in berserk locomotion'. If we· may adapt
the words of Lord, Green .M.R.: 'It scarcely lies in the mouth of
      848              , SUPREME COURT REPORTS              [1980] Ls.c.R.

     the truck driver who plays with fire to complain of burnt fingers'.
     Rashness and negligence are relative concepts, not absolute abstrac-
     tions. In our current conditions, the law under sec. 304-A IPC and
     under the rubric of Negligence, must have due regard to tM fatal
     frequency of rash driving of heavy duty vehicles and of speeding
     menaces. Thus viewed, it is fair to apply the rule of res ipsa /oquitur,
     of course, with care. Conventional defences, except under compelling
     evidence, must break down before the pragmatic Court and must be
     given short shrift. LQO'ked at from this angle, we are convinced
     that the present case deserves no consideration on the question of
     conviction.
         Counsel for petitioner has contended that a sentence of 2 years'
     R.I. is excessive, especially having regard to the fact that the peti-
     tioner has a large family to maintain and the proprietor of the truck
     has left his family in the cold. When a life has been lost and the
     oircumstances of driving are harsh, no compa~sion can be shown.
     We do not interfere with the sentence, although the owner is often
     not morally innocent.
         Nevertheless, sentencing must have a policy :cif correction. This
     driver, if he has to become a good driver, must have a better train-
     ing in traffic laws and moral responsibility, with special 'reference
     to the potential injury to human life and limb. Punishment in this
     area must, therefore, be accompanied by these components. The
     State, we hope, wiU attach a course. for better driving together .with
     a livelier sense of responsibility, when the punishment is for driving
     offences. Maybe, the State may consider, in cases of men with poor
     families, occasional parole and reformatory courses on appropr'iate
     application, without the rigour of the old rules which are subject to
     Government discretion.
        · The victimisation of the family of the convict may well be a
     reality and is regrettable. It is a weakness of our jurisprudence that
     the victims of the crime, and the distress of the dependents of the
     prisoner, do not attract the attention of the law. Indeed, victim
     reparation is still the vanishing point of our criminal law !. This is
     a deficiency in the system which must be rectified by the Legislature.
     We can only draw attention to this matter. Hopefully, the Welfare
     State will bestow better thought and action to traffic justice in the
     light of the observations we have made. We dismiss the special
     leave petition. ·
:H

     N.V.K.                                                Petition dismissed.