A court here has reduced the sentence of a man from three-year rigorous imprisonment to one year in jail in a case of beating a Delhi Police constable at a barricade for checking drunk driving, keeping in view his young age.
The police had charged the 28-year-old accused with assaulting a constable when he was stopped at the barricade in 2016. The accused was riding a motorcycle. When a traffic officer stopped him, the accused started abusing them and beat an on-duty constable, the charge sheet alleged.
A Metropolitan Magistrate court had sentenced him to different terms of punishment for offences including obstructing public servant, voluntarily causing hurt, assault, criminal intimidation and drunk driving. It also asked him to pay a compensation of ₹15,000 to the constable he had beaten.
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The accused had challenged his conviction in an appeal, among other points, on the grounds that the investigation agency could not produce any public witness, which was necessary in view of the fact that the incident had taken place at a busy public place. However, the court dismissed his argument.
Though Additional Sessions Judge Neera Bharihoke dismissed his appeal against his conviction, she reduced his sentences. As the sentences will run concurrently, he will now serve a maximum sentence of one year.
“There is another case against the appellant. He has assaulted a public servant and caused harm to him while he was performing his duties as a public servant. No person is allowed to take the law in his own hand. The assault on a public person is a sign that the appellant does not bother about the law and can assault any person when he can assault a public servant. However, in my considered opinion, looking at the young age of the appellant, the sentence awarded by the trial court is too harsh. Accordingly, order on the sentence is modified,” the judge said.
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