14 years in jail if you kill cow, 2 if you kill people: Judge in BMW case -Abhinav Rajput

-Hindustan Times

The judge said present-day laws provide more stringent punishment to perpetrators of cattle-related crimes than errant drivers who take human lives.

New Delhi: When a Delhi judge sentenced the son of a Haryana-based industrialist to two years’ imprisonment on Saturday for mowing down a motorcyclist with his luxury car in 2008, he couldn’t help but observe how present-day laws provide more stringent punishment to perpetrators of cattle-related crimes than errant drivers who take human lives.

“The sentence for killing cow is five, seven or 14 years in different states, but the sentence for causing the death of a human being through rash or negligent driving is only two years,” additional sessions judge Sanjeev Kumar said.

The court held the accused, 30-year-old Utsav Bhasin, guilty of rash driving, voluntarily causing hurt on provocation and causing death by negligence. It also announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the family of the deceased and Rs 2 lakh for the injured.

On the night of September 11, 2008, Bhasin – then a BBA student – had crushed Anuj Chauhan and his friend, Mrigank Srivastava, under his BMW car at Moolchand in South Delhi. While Chauhan died in a city hospital, Srivastava survived the accident. Bhasin was arrested from ISBT Kashmere Gate while he was fleeing to Chandigarh.

 

Though the court had passed the verdict in May, the quantum of punishment was pronounced only on Saturday. It also granted statutory bail to Bhasin, enabling him to file an appeal in the high court. The bail bond was fixed at Rs 50,000 with surety of a similar amount.

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