HC upholds conviction of man in 2013 fatal motorbike crash but releases him on probation

Mumbai, Jul 15 (PTI) The Bombay High Court on Monday upheld the conviction of a 28-year-old man who rammed his motorbike into a woman, killing her 11 years ago, but granted him probation noting he was only 18 at the time and had no intention to cause the accident.
Justice S G Mehare at the Aurangabad bench (in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, central Maharashtra) said while the conviction of the man -- Akshay Khandve -- was "just and not illegal", benefits of the Probation of Offenders Act could be extended to him considering his young age and other factors.
The high court maintained the motorbike rider had just completed 18 years of age at the time of the fatal accident.
"He was a teenager, and in excitement and happiness, he might have driven the new vehicle for the first time and lost control. His age and the way in which the accident happened are the peculiar facts that have to be considered," the HC noted.
Khandve had no "mens rea" (criminal intent) to cause an accident or death of a person, the bench observed.
"The mens rea is absent. He (Khandve) was a first-time offender and has no antecedents," the court pointed out.
"He (Khandve) has a bright future. He is apprehensive about the stigma of conviction that may ruin his future," the HC said.
The court said it was expedient to release Khandve on probation under section 4 of the Act (releasing on probation for good conduct).
The bench upheld the man's conviction but instead of sentencing him ordered his release on probation.
The order was delivered on a petition filed by Khandve challenging the 2019 judgments passed by a magistrate's court and then a sessions court convicting him for causing the death of a woman by negligence after he rammed his new motorbike into her in Aurangabad (now Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar).

As per the plea, Khandve had just turned 18 when he drove his new motorcycle rashly and negligently, and rammed into a woman sitting outside her house on April 20, 2013, leaving her seriously injured.
The woman died on May 7, 2013.
Khandve was charged under section 304-A of the Indian Penal Code (causing death by negligence) and under relevant provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act. He sought benefits under the Probation of Offenders Act considering his age at the time of the accident.
The bench noted that two lower courts have concurrently held that the petitioner was driving the offending vehicle rashly and negligently.
Khandve's conviction was not "perverse, illegal or improper" and that it was proportionate and just, the HC noted, but maintained benefits of the Probation of Offenders Act could be extended to the petitioner.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)