In Brief
A driver was convicted under IPC Sections 279 (rash driving) and 304A (causing death by negligence) for a 1996 road accident. The High Court confirmed the conviction but reduced the sentence to one and three months respectively, with compensation of Rs. 50,000. The Supreme Court upheld the conviction, finding no infirmity in the courts' findings. However, because the parties had settled the matter, the incident occurred two decades earlier, and the appellant had immediately taken the injured to hospital (showing no flight intent), the Court set aside the imprisonment sentences while maintaining the compensation order, treating this as an error of judgment rather than gross negligence.
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