Mumbai: If a public road is crossed without taking note of the vehicles running on it, one runs the risk of being hit by them, a magistrate court ruled as it acquitted a man who had been booked for rash driving in an incident of 2010.
The 49-year-old biker had run over the leg of a pedestrian in Mahim.
2010 incident
On August 24, 2010, Adnan Khan was going home around 8 pm after buying a book, when a motorcycle ran over his leg. The biker took Khan to a hospital where it was discovered that he had suffered a fracture.
Khan, who was unable to say, during cross-examination, at what speed the bike was travelling, contended that there was no zebra crossing at the spot.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of Bandra court AH Thombre, who noted that the incident took place when Khan was crossing the road, said the court's record do not show that the bike was being driven at high speed.
Court refers to SC judgment on similar case
The court relied on a judgement of the Supreme Court in a similar case where a pedestrian was hit by a bus while crossing the road. The top court had said that the bus driver cannot be held to be negligent as however slow he might be driving he may not be in a position to prevent the accident if a person crosses the road suddenly.
The magistrate's court said the facts of the case squarely apply to the present case. “It is the pedestrian who has to judge by observing the road from both sides the approximate time required to cross the road. If the public road is crossed without taking care of the vehicles running on the road, the person runs the risk of being hit by a vehicle,” the court said.
There is no evidence to show that Khan was crossing the road while observing the flow of traffic, it said. On the basis of evidence on record, the accused cannot be held guilty of driving his two-wheeler rashly or negligently, the court held.
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