AHMEDABAD:
Jaimin Patel, a resident of Ahmedabad, got away with paying penalty of Rs 1,500 and spending a day in court four years after he was caught driving drunk in dry
Gujarat.
While Gujarat government is making prohibition laws more and more stringent, it is the repentance on part of the accused that resulted in imposition of milder punishment from the court in Patel’s case.
Patel was facing a trial for drunken driving, as he was nabbed driving his vehicle in inebriated condition and tested positive on July 3, 2013. He was booked under section 185 of the Motor Vehicle Act, which prescribes jail term up to six months and fine up to Rs 2,000 or both, if a person is caught driving drunk.
However, when Patel appeared before the Metropolitan Court No 22 earlier this month, he confessed his crime, regretted his mistake and promised the court that he would never indulge in such a crime in future. Patel’s voluntarily admitting his guilty coupled with repentance and promise led the court to consider imposing milder punishment on him.
The additional chief judicial magistrate said that looking at the principles laid down by Gujarat high court in Natwar Hirachand Thakor’s case in 2005 for imposing minor punishment for admission of guilt and expressing regrets, the court felt it proper to order Patel to sit in court through the day till it rises and pay a penalty of Rs 1,500 for the offence.
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