[harshaguduru]

MUMBAI: A special court on Thursday convicted US national and Colaba resident Nooriya Haveliwala for mowing down two men, including a policeman, in a drunken state in January 2010 and sentenced her to five years' rigorous imprisonment.

Special judge I M Bohari found 30-year-old Nooriya guilty under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, as well as under Motor Vehicles Act and Prevention of Destruction to Public Property Act.

Lamenting the recent spate of drunk driving cases, the judge said, "Alike incidents are taking place frequently. Drivers...cannot be allowed to treat people on the road as...toys." The judge noted that one of Nooriya's victims, police sub-inspector Dinanath Shinde, was doing his duty while the other, biker Afzal Ibrahim, died very young.

SOURCE & Full Article: Times of India

The judgement also included a fine of Rs.5lakh (2each to the deceased and balance to the injured)

While everyone has their own opinion on this. I personally feel that this is as good as letting her go scot free. This wasn't an accident with a vehicle malfunction. The guilty party wasnt some teenager with hormones out of whack. She is an american citizen(NRI) and very much aware of the consequences because unlike us they have to work for the driving licenses and undergo hours of tutoring about various legal/ethical aspects. This was homicide and the fine is nothing compared to the emotional/financial and material(damage to roads, police vehicle, victims bike) damages inflicted.
The reason why i have posted this thread here is because this judgement has used as examples , previous such incidents and this may form the backbone for all drunken driving lawsuits in the future.

[mayankjha1806]

Well, i agree the punishment needs to be strong, as this is a grievous case driver knew the consequences. Now the question, is 5 years enough or not is something that can be endlessly debated.

In my view, a 5 years imprisonment (by 5 year i mean 5 real years, and not 2.5 if counted day+night, or subtracting time she has already spent in jail) is enough to deter many educated souls (like myself) out there to stay away from such trouble. In 5 years ones family could be down to the streets, and it is enough to finish everything that one has created in his/her working life.

[one-77]

At least it's a good thing that the accused has been found guilty of the charges pressed. That in itself is a rare thing these days with our legal system. The rich in India usually get away after even willfully killing people. I hope this is just the beginning.
As for the sentence, what I remember from my forensic medicine classes is that, drunk driving only amounts to criminal negligence and culpable homicide not amounting to murder in India, so 5 years+5 lacs is quite good. Legal experts here can give us a better perspective on that.
I've seen people admitting to and even justifying drunk driving even on Team-BHP. Hope this is an eye-opener for them; rather than having to learn things the hard way.

[mempheS.D]

How I wish the same verdict applied to all such crimes.

A renowned movie star who mowed down many innocent lives continues to release hits and is shooting his next.

Justice prevails only for those who are unable grease the hands of justice and slip away!

[greenhorn]

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/repor...itical_1759119

Drunk women in BMW's seem to be trending these days

[maddyoni10]

I wish the penalty was 50 lakhs (20 each to the family of deceased). While no amount of money will suffice, 2 lakhs seems too little too late.

[puchoo]

In the United Kingdom , the punishment can be upto 14 years in prison with an unlimited amount of fine. Political parties in Russia recently recommended a 15 year prison term. In the US , and members from there would be able to best advise , different states follow different protocols but it can be upto 30 years in prison as well.

[mac187]

I would say its a step in the right direction. Agreed that the judgement of 5 years and 5 lacs is too late. By Indian standards we should be happy that the result is positive. We all know how the rich and famous get away with mowing down people in India.

[Saanil]

Good Judgement from the Court!

I do not want to start a debate on what should the Jail time one should serve for such cases but I am happy to see such a judgement. I am always surprised to see many such drunk driving cases in newspapers but never it is mentioned what punishment is given afterwards - Probably because the court cases are still going on.

I think the rationale for giving this punishment is that the accused is given time to realize what he/she has done wrong and given a chance to amend it. While we cannot bring back the dead, giving harsh punishments just so that they deserve it is not the way judgements are given. Probably the lawyers on this forum can shed more light as to what is the rationale behind giving such punishments.

[alpha1]

I can't pass judgement on the court's decision - but isn't there any way to project such accidents as attempt to murder?

In fact to call this horrendous act an accident is WRONG.
You drink, you take drugs, you are high - and then you drive!
What is accidental in this?

[puchoo]

I dont think it would be that difficult , the only hurdle would be the WILL to get it done , and most countries treat it as such as well depending on the severity of the accident.

Originally Posted by alpha1

I can't pass judgement on the court's decision - but isn't there any way to project such accidents as attempt to murder?

[VeluM]

Originally Posted by alpha1

I can't pass judgement on the court's decision - but isn't there any way to project such accidents as attempt to murder?

In fact to call this horrendous act an accident is WRONG.
You drink, you take drugs, you are high - and then you drive!
What is accidental in this?

Yes, but the distinction is made on the basis of the intent. The intent here was to drive home or wherever the accused was heading. Since they drove knowing that they were under the influence (if not actually drunk), it is a crime.

I think driving with any level of alcohol in one's system should be banned. Forget the percentages and "safe" levels. It not only is too hard to police, but is also a loophole to wriggle out of once caught. Don't drink and drive at all.

In the US I believe once can be sentenced consecutive prison terms for multiple offences, hence extending one's prison terms to even 100+ years. In India it is almost always concurrent, due to which even mass murderers can get out of prison within 14 years unless they are on death row. Time that changes too.

A massive monetary fine is in my opinion going to cause serious hardship to the family of the convicted, and not the convict themselves in such cases, since the convicted will be in prison on state food and lodging. I think the current system of fines should stay in cases of accidents. Intentional crimes should of course be treated differently.

Originally Posted by mac187

We all know how the rich and famous get away with mowing down people in India.

I agree with you, but there is a massive difference of scale from end to end of that spectrum. For example, to the vast majority of Indians every single member of this forum is rich. For the punishment to be enforced we need transparency in the judicial system and stronger anti-corruption laws, IMHO.

[samarjitdhar]

Originally Posted by mempheS.D

How I wish the same verdict applied to all such crimes.

A renowned movie star who mowed down many innocent lives continues to release hits and is shooting his next.

Justice prevails only for those who are unable grease the hands of justice and slip away!

Rightly said. Even in this case the accused tried to wiggle out by making flimsy arguments like she created an NGO to create awareness about drunk driving, etc. after the incident happened. However the example you cited clearly demonstrates what is so grossly wrong about how the rule of law is implemented in our country. First witnesses were bought then evidence manipulated by making the driver who was not driving take the blame and the law was smashed to smithereens. What is more lamentable is a large section of our citizens idolize this star and fawn blindly even when this guy was nailed left and right in the black buck shooting case. More than this shameless guy, it is his fans to blame who make him feel he can never be touched by the arms of justice.

Sure the relatives and family members of the accused suffer needlessly but then should that be a reason for leniency? By that logic we should then release Kasab and let him go back to his family in Pakistan .

[Saanil]

This is probably off topic but what exactly happened in the Film star's case - I guess that happened in Bandra? Was he acquitted or the case is still going on? I have to admit that I did not even remember this case until it was brought up by some one above.

[MaddyCrew]

Originally Posted by mempheS.D

How I wish the same verdict applied to all such crimes.

A renowned movie star who mowed down many innocent lives continues to release hits and is shooting his next.

Justice prevails only for those who are unable grease the hands of justice and slip away!

+1 to that.

The movie star, the Admiral's grandson, the rich guys - they all get away using one loop-hole or the other Seems like this lady was just unlucky - so-to-speak!!

That said, I'm happy that atleast in this case justice was served.