minal Appeal No 20 of 1970
Appeal by special leave from the judgment and order dated September 11 1969 of the Delhi High Court in Criminal Rev No 291 D of 1966
I M Lall section K Mehta K R Nagaraja and M Qumaruddin for the appellant 
H R Khanna and R N Sachthey for the respondent
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by DUA J
Jagdish Chander appellant has preferred this appeal by special leave from the judgment and order of the High Court of Delhi dated September 11 1969 dismissing the appellant s revision from the judgment and order of the learned Additional Sessions 205 Judge Delhi dated September 7 1966 dismissing his appeal against the order of a Magistrate 1st Class New Delhi dated April 30 1966 convicting him for an offence under section 304 A IPC and sentencing him to rigorous imprisonment for six months and a fine of Rs 500 
The occurrence giving rise to these criminal proceedings against the appellant took place on April 20 1965 at about 850 am
According to the prosecution version the appellant was driving hi auto scooter rickshaw No DLR 5614 and was proceeding from the side of Yusaf Sarai when near the DTU Bus Stand Engineering College Hauz Khas IIT he suddenly turned to his right towards Mehrauli Road
Apparently he wanted to turn back and reverse his direction
A truck No DLG 8468 driven by one Labh Singh was coming from the opposite direction that is from Mehrauli Side
It is said that the appellant turned to his right suddenly without giving any signal and without paying any heed to the traffic on the right
The result was the accident giving rise to the present criminal proceedings
 The front bumper on the left side of the truck struck the rear left side of the body of the appellant s scooter rickshaw  As a result of this impact the appellant lost control of his scooter rickshaw and swerved
to the right and
after crossing the edge of the road crashed into a tree Under which Smt
Vidya Sharma was standing with her baby in her arms and her brother Sat Pal standing by her side
On being hit by the appellant s scooter rickshaw Smt
Vidya Sharma could not keep control over her baby who fell down on the ground and received injuries
Vidya Sharma and Sat Pal also sustained simple hurts but the injuries suffered by the baby were serious and indeed they proved fatal resulting in the child s death in the hospital soon after the occurrence in question
Both Labh Singh driver of the truck and the appellant were challaned and convicted by the learned Magistrate under section 304A I P C
The trial court sentenced both of them to rigorous imprisonment for 6 months each and also to a fine of Rs 500each and in default of payment of fine they were both directed to undergo further rigorous imprisonment for 2 months each
Out of the fine if realised Rs 500 were directed to be paid to the parents of the deceased child
Both the convicted drivers appealed to the Sessions Court
The learned Additional Sessions Judge somewhat surprisingly allowed the appeal of Labh Singh holding that he was not in a position to stop the truck instantaneously with a view to avoid the collision of the two vehicles because the appellant had all of a sudden brought his vehicle in front of the truck after taking a turn at a high speed
The Addl
Sessions Judge also observed that the back portion of the appellant s scooter rickshaw was not seriously damaged by the impact with the truck and the vehicle remained in a normal functioning condition
On this premise the appellate Judge took the view that it Was in order to save himself that the appellant took his vehicle towards the kacha side of the road in a state of utter con 206 fusion his vehicle having got out of his control
spite of this however according to the appellate Court Jagdish Chander was in a position to avoid hitting Smt
Vidya Sharma
The scooter rickshaw to use the words of the Addl
Sessions Judge was not thrown towards the tree because of the violent push given by the truck but it was actually driven by the accused Jagadish Chander towards the direction where Smt
Vidya Sharma and here brother were standing
The entire occurrence in this case according to the Sessions Judge had taken place as a result of the rashness or negligence of the appellant because he had decided to take a turn in a sudden manner at a high speed in the middle of the road and that in spite of the fact that he had seen the truck of the accused coming towards him from a distance of less than 30 yards
The driver of the truck was considered by the Addl
Sessions Judge to be within his right to drive the vehicle on Mehrauli Road at the speed of 30 to 40 miles per hour
At the time of the occurrence in question when driving his truck at this speed
Labh Singh was considered not to be in a position to avoid the collision
The sentence on the appellant was upheld by the appellate Court and it was directed that the fine if paid by him should be paid by way of compensation to the parents of the deceased child
On revision a learned single judge of the High Court referred to the evidence of Asa Nand PW 3 Vidya Sharma PW 1 1 and Sat Pal PW 12 the three witnesses on whom the two courts below had placed reliance
After referring to the relevant version given by these three witnesses and also after noticing what the Motor Vehicles Inspector had said about the damage done to the appellant s auto rickshaw and to the truck in question the High Court observed that the road between Yusaf Sarai  Mehrauli had not much traffic particularly in the early hours of the morning
Vehicles could therefore be expected to be driven on that road at a fairly high speed
The appellant s act in taking a sudden turn on that road without ensuring that there was
no vehicle coming from the opposite direction was however considered to be a rash or negligent act and it was this act which resulted in the impact between the truck and the appellant s auto rickshaw and this impact was the direct and proximate cause of the death of Smt
Vidya Sharma s child and of the injouries caused to her and to her brother Sat Pal
So holding the appellant s conviction and sentence were confirmed by the High Court
In this Court it was streously contended that the courts below had approached the case from an erroneous point of view and had not read the evidence correctly
The appellate court and the High Court according to the submission also erroneously absolved the driver of the truck who had no justification for driving at a fast speed even if it be in the early hours of the morning
According to the appellant s learned counsel 850 am in the month of April cannot be described as early hours
of the morning it being added that there is no evidence on the record showing that at that time there was not much traffic on Mehrauli Road
The High Court was also not right in observing that vehicles could be expected to be 207 driven at a fairly fast speed argued the counsel adding that if the vehicles could be expected to be driven at a fast speed then the appellant should also have been held justified in driving his auto rickshaw at a fast speed
The appellant s case should in that event have also been considered with leniency
Particular stress was laid on the contention that the unfortunate death of the child could on no rational or logical reasoning be considered to be the direct and natural result of the collision between the truck and the rickshaw in other words this collision was not the proximate and immediate cause of the unfortunate death of the child
Our attention was also invited by the appellant s counsel to the evidence for showing that it was the truck driver and not the appellant who was to blame for this accidental collision
After going through the record to which our attention was drawn we cannot help observing that the investigation into the officers in question was not conducted on scientific lines and it leaves much to be desired
Our attention was not drawn to any material on the record showing if the tyre marks of the two vehicles on the road were carefully examined with the object of finding out the approximate speed an the manner of application of brakes at the time of the collision
Nor were photographs taken of the position of the site soon after the unfortunate occurrence which is usually done in the course of efficient investigations
Our attention was no doubt drawn to the site plan Ext
PW 9A which purports to show that the two vehicles in question which were coming from opposite directions started swerving to their right presumably on seeing each other and that the collision took place at point A  from where the truck drove straight on the road while the auto rickshaw was driven towards its right to the point B  where Smt
Vidya Sharma was standing with her baby in her arms and her brother by her side This plan however seems to be a rough plan
Our attention was not invited to any statement of the witnesses explaining at whose instance various nothings
were made on this plan
So far as the witnesses deposing as having seen the occurrence in question are concerned their evidence has always to be carefully scrutinised because such witnesses only observe accidents after their attention is drawn to the impact resulting from the collision
Their statement about the events immediately preceding the occurrence are generally and to a very large extent influenced by what they imagine must have happened
After looking at the plan and going through the evidence to which our attention was drawn one forms an impression that both the truck driver and the appellant were equally guilty of rash and negligent driving
But since the driver of the truck has been acquitted by the learned Addl
Sessions Judge and no appeal was preferred against his acquittal we have to take his acquittal to be final
According to the findings of the three courts below the appellant suddenly turned to the right without paying proper heed to the truck coming from the opposite direction and in doing so be was both rash and negligent
Under Article 136 of the Constitution we should not like to appraise the evidence for ourselves to see bow 208 far the concurrent conclusion of the three courts below upholding the appellant s act as rash and negligent is justified
The argument raised before us on behalf of the appellant on this point relates only to the appreciation of evidence and no serious legal infirmity was brought to our notice
The question however remains if the death of the baby in Smt
Vidya Sharma s arms was the proximate direct and immediate consequence of the appellant s rash and negligent driving
Looking at Exht
PW 9A it does appear that after the impact between the heavy vehicle like a truck and a very much lighter auto rickshaw the latter must in all probability have been so pushed as to make its driver lose all control of the rickshaw
In such circumstances it could no doubt have been contended with a certain amount of reason that the death of the child was a remote and indirect result of the rash and negligent driving on the part of the appellant and not an immediate direct natural and proximate consequence
But the three courts having so held we do not think this Court will be justified in appraising the evidence for itself on this part of the case on the peculiar facts and circumstances disclosed on the printed record
The appellant s conviction must therefore be upheld in agreement with the conclusions of the three courts below
The more difficult question seems to be one of sentence in the present case
The accident took place on April 20 1965 the trial Court convicted the appellant on April 30 1966 sentencing him to rigorous imprisonment for 6 months and to a fine of Rs 500 
His appeal was dismissed by the Addl
Sessions Judge on September 7 1966 and his revision was disallowed on September 11 1969
He was ordered to be released on bail by this Court on February 2 1970
We are now in May 1973
The criminal proceedings against the appellant have thus gone on since April 1965 which means a little more than 8 years
The circumstances in which the collision between the truck and the appellant s scooter occurred seems prima facie to suggest that they their drivers were both to blame
Penalties designed to deter crime should be gauged so far as possible to the degree of social danger that is represented by the crime and its repetition
To send the appellant back to Jail to serve the sentence of 6 months after 8 years seems to us to be highly unjust for the kind of offence which has been upheld against him by the three courts below
It is unlikely to have any reformatory effect on him
Harassment of a criminal trial for more than 8 years and the expense which he must have incurred in our opinion can legitimately be taken into account when considering the question of sentence to be imposed by this Court at this point of time
The appellant is stated to have served out only three weeks of imprisonment but on a consideration of all the relevant circumstances of the case we think it would be just and proper to reduce the sentence of imprisonment to that already undergone but to increase the sentence of fine from Rs 500 to Rs 700 
Out of the fine if realised Rs 500 should be paid to the mother of the deceased child
We however cannot help expressing our grave con 209 cern over the inordinate delay in the disposal of criminal cases including appeals and revisions
If our criminal justice is to achieve its real purpose and if it is to inspire the confidence of the people generally causes for such delays should be eliminated as early as practicable
Law s delays tend to turn justice sour
The appeal is allowed in part in the terms stated above
GC Appeal allowed in part


Summary:
The appellant was driving his auto scooter rikshaw which on account of a sudden turn taken by the appellant struck a truck
After the impact the appellant lost control of his scooter rickshaw and crashed into a tree
As a result a man and a woman received simple in juries and the child whom the woman was holding in her arms received fatal injuries
The appellant and the truck driver were charged under section 304A of the Indian Penal Code and were convicted by the trial court
The Additional Sessions Judge allowed the appeal of the truck driver but held the appellant guilty
On revision a single Judge of the High Court confirmed the conviction of the appellant
In appeal to this Court by special leave
HELD  i According to the findings of the three courts below the appellant suddenly turned to the right without paying proper heed to the truck coming from the opposite direction and in doing so he was both rash and negligent
Under article 136 of the Constitution this Court would not like to appraise the evidence again for determining how far the concurrent conclusion of the three court below upholding the appellant s act as rash and negligent was justified
207H ii The criminal proceeding against the appellant had gone on for a little more than 8 years
The circumstances in which the collision between the truck and the appellant s scooter occurred seemed prima facie to suggest that both the drivers were to blame
Harassment of a criminal trial for more than 8 years and the expense which the appellant must have incurred could legitimately be taken into account when considering the question of sentence to be imposed by this Court at this point of time
208F Sentence of imprisonment reduced to period already undergone
The Court also observed that the investigation of the case was not conducted on scientific lines and that the undue delay in the disposal of the case was a matter of concern