New Delhi, April 4, 2025 – The Delhi High Court on Friday ruled that driving at high speed does not inherently constitute “rash and negligent” behavior, acquitting a man accused of killing two pedestrians in a 2012 accident. Justice Saurabh Banerjee’s verdict overturned an 18-month jail term handed to the petitioner in 2022, highlighting gaps in the prosecution’s case, as reported by Hindustan Times.
The incident occurred on December 12, 2012, when the accused, a car cleaner, took his employer’s vehicle for a drive in south Delhi’s Kotla Mubarakpur. Losing control, he fatally struck two pedestrians—Phoolwati Devi and Shiv Charan. Initially convicted under Section 304A of the Indian Penal Code (causing death by negligence), he appealed, claiming a tyre burst caused the crash. The sessions court upheld the conviction, but the High Court found insufficient evidence of recklessness.
Justice Banerjee noted that four witnesses testified to the car’s high speed, yet none confirmed “rash or negligent” driving—a legal prerequisite for conviction under Section 304A (now Section 106(1) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita). “Mere high speed doesn’t suffice,” the court stated, pointing to unexamined possibilities like a flat tyre. The prosecution’s failure to prove intent or carelessness beyond reasonable doubt led to the acquittal, ending a 13-year legal battle.
The ruling has sparked debate on road safety laws in India, where rash driving accounts for 58% of accidents (MoRTH, 2023). Delhi alone saw 1,487 road deaths in 2024, with speeding a frequent factor (Delhi Traffic Police). Legal experts see this as a nuanced precedent—speed alone won’t clinch convictions without clear evidence of negligence. “It’s a call for tighter investigations,” said advocate Anil Sharma.
For the victims’ families, it’s a bitter close—Phoolwati’s kin had sought justice for over a decade. The accused, now free, avoided media comment. The verdict underscores a judicial push for precision in negligence cases, but questions linger: will it sharpen police probes or soften accountability on India’s deadly roads?
