A man injured in a 2008 hit-and-run case, involving a Haryana industrialist’s son, Utsav Bhasin, on Thursday refused to accept a cheque of ₹2 lakh offered to him as compensation, before the Delhi High Court.
A trial court had on July 15 sent convict Bhasin to two years in jail for mowing down a motorcyclist, Anuj Singh, and injuring the pillion rider, journalist Mrigank Srivastava, with his BMW. He was convicted of causing death by negligence, but the charge of 304(II) [culpable homicide not amounting to murder] under the IPC was dropped. The court had directed Bhasin to pay a compensation of ₹10 lakh to Singh’s kin and ₹2 lakh to Srivastava.
Appeal in HC
Bhasin, who was granted bail after furnishing a bail bond of ₹50,000 with a surety of like amount, had appealed against the sentencing in the High Court.
During the hearing in the High Court, the counsel for Mr. Srivastava told Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal that they needed to think over the compensation amount before accepting it, as directed by the trial court.
The court extended the Bhasin’s bail till October 30 on the same conditions as imposed by the trial court. The counsel for Bhasin told the judge that an enhanced compensation of ₹35 lakh was paid to the deceased victim’s parents, who did not wish to take the matter further. The judge, however, said that no such submission was given or put on record in the court. He asked Bhasin’s counsel, “If any such statement was given by the deceased’s parents, why don’t you file an affidavit in this regard.”
The convict’s counsel asked the court to take the statement provided by the victim’s family on record. However, the court declined it and listed the matter for hearing on October 30.
