The policeman on duty told the court that he was checking vehicles in an anti-drink driving initiative of the Mumbai Police.(Representational image)A metropolitan magistrate court recently acquitted a medical student, booked for drunk driving, as the police did not make him undergo any medical tests.
The incident took place on March 9, 2016, when Gufran Kamdar, in his early 20s, was stopped by a traffic constable near the Eastern Freeway in south Mumbai.
The policeman on duty told the court that he was checking vehicles in an anti-drink driving initiative of the Mumbai Police.
While deposing before the court, he said while he was on night duty at the Blue Gate on P D’Mello Road, he saw a vehicle coming towards the freeway from Colaba.
The officer added that he stopped the car and smelt alcohol on the breath of Kamdar, the driver. The breath analyser test indicated alcohol levels higher than permissible limits, he told the court.
While the prosecution claimed that this was enough to prove that the accused had consumed alcohol and was driving under its influence, the defence advocate, representing Kamdar, alleged that the prosecution had no document to prove that the test was conducted on that very day.
He added that no station diary entry, spot panchnama, CCTV footage or eyewitness statements have been submitted before the court.
The additional metropolitan magistrate said that though the policeman’s deposition indicates that the accused had consumed alcohol, no corroborative evidence was submitted by the prosecution.
“It appears that there is no evidence of blood (test) of accused submitted by the prosecution. There is no evidence of accused’s urine test… there is no CCTV footage brought on record to prove the alleged incident,” the court said.
“Due to lack of positive evidence and in absence of corroborative evidence with the version of PW 1 (policeman on duty), it cannot be said that the guilt of the accused is proved beyond reasonable doubt,” the court said.
