Mumbai hit-and-run: SC judges differ on sentence,new bench to hear case

Minutes after Justice Markandey Katju dictated the order ruling that the convict be let off considering the time he spent in jail as his sentence,Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra,the other judge,differed on the quantum of sentence. The bench then recalled the order and referred the case to another bench for a fresh hearing.

The Supreme Court was hearing Pereiras appeal against the Bombay High Court judgment of September 6,2007. The High Court had convicted him under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) with three years imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5 lakh.

Both the Supreme Court judges were unanimous in their opinion that the case was not fit for conviction under Section 304.

The judges,while hearing the case,were given the impression that Pereira had already spent one year in jail. While dictating the order,Katju said the time he spent in jail could be considered as his sentence.

However,when Justice Mishra checked the facts,she found that the total time spent he spent in jail was just a month,which,in her opinion,was too less. The matter will be placed before another bench and heard afresh, Justice Mishra told The Indian Express.

In the order,which was not signed,the bench had also asked Pereira to pay a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each to the next of kin of the seven persons killed. Fourteen persons were injured in the hit-and-run accident on November 12,2006 on Mumbais Carter Road.

The Bombay HC had said: There is no sympathy for the convict (Pereira) as it is a clear-cut case of rash driving. The court had set aside a sessions court order awarding Pereira six months imprisonment and Rs 5,000 in fine,holding that the (convict) deserved a stricter sentence.

The High Court had also criticised Mumbai Police for its investigation process and the delay in submitting the report.