AHMEDABAD: In Gujarat, some prohibition laws defy sober analysis: a person walking drunk faces jail time, but someone driving under the influence - imperiling many lives - can stagger out of trouble after paying a fine.
Two cases in a Dholka's court earlier this month bear testimony to the discrepancy in application of laws related to prohibition and drunk driving in the state. Cops book drunk people under the Gujarat Prohibition Act, which has minimum punishment for six months, if caught for the first time. Ironically, for drunk driving, Gujarat police invokes only section 185 of the Motor Vehicle Act, which has a provision of maximum six months jail or fine up to Rs 2,000 or both. State cops generally do not book those found driving drunk under special prohibition laws of the state!
As a fallout of this discrepency, a paradox played out at a Dholka court earlier this month. A labourer from Loliya village near Dholka, Chandubhai Nayak, 40, was arrested and booked under Section 66 (1) of the Gujarat Prohibition Act for loitering drunk in his village on February 6, 2019. He was sent to jail. A court granted him bail, but the poor labourer could not afford to pay surety and languished in prison for over three months. Nayak pleaded guilty on May 9 and sought lenciency. Judicial magistrate first class H B Sharma said the punishment cannot be reduced to less than three months under amended prohibition laws. He was sentenced to three months in jail and fined Rs 500.
A week later, another case of a drunk man came up for hearing. In this case, Bopal resident Sandipsingh Sardar, was caught driving his car while drunk near Badarkha bus stand on April 5, 2015. He was booked under Section 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act. Prohibition act was not invoked against Sardar.
Sardar pleaded for leniency by projecting himself as a poor man and assured the court that he would not repeat the offence. A court took a lenient view and citing the accused's condition and circumstances and Sardar was made to sit in the courtroom for a day and released after paying a fine of Rs 1,500.
Two cases in a Dholka's court earlier this month bear testimony to the discrepancy in application of laws related to prohibition and drunk driving in the state. Cops book drunk people under the Gujarat Prohibition Act, which has minimum punishment for six months, if caught for the first time. Ironically, for drunk driving, Gujarat police invokes only section 185 of the Motor Vehicle Act, which has a provision of maximum six months jail or fine up to Rs 2,000 or both. State cops generally do not book those found driving drunk under special prohibition laws of the state!
As a fallout of this discrepency, a paradox played out at a Dholka court earlier this month. A labourer from Loliya village near Dholka, Chandubhai Nayak, 40, was arrested and booked under Section 66 (1) of the Gujarat Prohibition Act for loitering drunk in his village on February 6, 2019. He was sent to jail. A court granted him bail, but the poor labourer could not afford to pay surety and languished in prison for over three months. Nayak pleaded guilty on May 9 and sought lenciency. Judicial magistrate first class H B Sharma said the punishment cannot be reduced to less than three months under amended prohibition laws. He was sentenced to three months in jail and fined Rs 500.
A week later, another case of a drunk man came up for hearing. In this case, Bopal resident Sandipsingh Sardar, was caught driving his car while drunk near Badarkha bus stand on April 5, 2015. He was booked under Section 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act. Prohibition act was not invoked against Sardar.
Sardar pleaded for leniency by projecting himself as a poor man and assured the court that he would not repeat the offence. A court took a lenient view and citing the accused's condition and circumstances and Sardar was made to sit in the courtroom for a day and released after paying a fine of Rs 1,500.
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