In Brief
A bus driver working for Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation hit a railway crossing gate with his vehicle in 2006, breaking it. He was convicted under Section 160(2) of the Railways Act, 1989, and sentenced to six months' imprisonment. The High Court affirmed the conviction and sentence. The Supreme Court upheld the conviction as a concurrent finding of three courts was binding, but reduced the sentence to time already served (one month). The Court found the sentence disproportionate given that no person was injured, only property was damaged, and thirteen years had elapsed since the offence.
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