IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH SHIMLA Cr. Appeal No. 696 of 2000 Date of Decision: 25.3.2008 State of H.P. …Appellant. Versus. Tilak Raj .. Respondent. Coram: The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Deepak Gupta, Judge. Whether approved for Reporting? For the Appellant(s): Mr. Rajesh Mandhotra, Deputy Advocate General For the Respondent(s): Mr. Dinesh Sharma, Advocate. Deepak Gupta, J. (Oral). The respondent was charged for having committed an offence punishable under Section 279 read with sections 336, 337 and 304-A of the Indian Penal Code. PW-1 Shayam Lal telephonically informed Police Station, Rampur Bushehar that an accident had taken place near the Telephone Exchange. This witness had gone to deposit his telephone bill. According to this witness, one truck was coming from Nogli side. He saw that the bumper of the truck hit one person wearing a Khakhi dress and the truck went a little ahead and then stopped. He informed the police. The police came on the spot and investigation was conducted. FIR was lodged and the matter was investigated. Thereafter challan was put up against the accused. The accused was summoned and charged for having committed the offence, aforesaid. The accused pleaded not guilty 2 and claimed trial. The learned trial court after completion of trial has acquitted the accused. Even PW-1, who is the sole eye witness to the accident, has not attributed any act of rashness or negligence to the accused. The only fact that he has stated is that the road was broad and straight. This by itself would not be sufficient to convict a person of having committed the offence of rash and negligent driving. Neither in his statements made before the police nor in court has he attributed any rashness or negligence to the accused. I have seen the photographs of the accident. The accident appears to have occurred in the middle of the road. This also belies the prosecution version that the accused was negligent and supports the version of the accused that the deceased was suddenly crossing the road. PW-3 Sabir Singh stated that the deceased was travelling in his jeep and after alighting from the jeep, he tried to cross the road. An accident has definitely happened leading to an unfortunate death of a human being. However, there is no evidence on record to show that the accident was caused due to rash or negligent driving of the accused. Therefore, there is no merit in this appeal which is accordingly dismissed. March 25, 2008(K) ( Deepak Gupta ), J.