New Delhi:
A Delhi court has sent a man to four days' imprisonment in a drunk driving case, noting the menace makes the automobiles 'death traps' and the drunken drivers 'lethal weapon'.
District and Sessions Judge Rekha Rani passed the order while upholding a magisterial court's judgement which had awarded four days imprisonment to west Delhi resident Dinesh, along with a fine.
The court noted that Dinesh had consumed alcohol 22 times more than the permissible limit and he did not have his vehicle's insurance.
"Drunken driving has become a menace, which may cause injuries, disabilities, fatalities having devastating effect on the victims and their kin. It also causes collossal loss in terms of economy of State...
"Consumption of alcohol impairs vision, focus, consciousness, coordination, reflexes which make automobiles 'death traps' and the drunken drivers 'lethal weapon'," it said, adding drunken driving is major factor for road accidents in India.
It further said that "human life is precious and road users have fundamental right to life and liberty guaranteed by Article 21 of our Constitution."
"Freedom and responsibility go hand in hand as declared by our Constitution. Those who flout responsibility forfeit their right to freedom," the court said.
According to the police, July 24, 2015, Dinesh was driving a two wheeler on Najafgarh Road under the influence of liquor.
It is alleged that on being checked through breath analyser, the alcohol content in his blood stream was found 665.1 mg/100 ml.