New Delhi: Holi was round the corner, and Sita Devi along with her elder sister Puja had gone to the nearby Ghazipur market to buy ‘gulaal’. The siblings planned to return to their home in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri for the festivities. Except, fate had other plans.
A Hyundai Aura came speeding into the busy market area in east Delhi’s Mayur Vihar Phase III and screeched to a halt after going out of control for about 500 m, on 13 March this year. 22-year-old Sita was declared dead at a hospital; six others escaped with injuries on their heads and legs.
The sedan was driven by a 17-year-old, who was out for a joyride with his friend. Both of them didn’t have a driving licence. Probe revealed that the teenager had driven only thrice.
“Holi will never be the same for us again. It will remind us of Sita’s bloodied face and motionless body,” her younger brother Kapil laments.
In Part 2 of the series that highlights cases similar to the Pune’s Porsche accident, ThePrint tracks the story of how the quiet world of a six-member family turned upside down after the crash in east Delhi.
Life not the same anymore
As he sits in the tiny one-room apartment in Khoda colony of Ghazipur, Kapil narrates how his sisters moved out from Uttar Pradesh some years ago to earn a livelihood.
“The rest of us stayed home. They (Sita & Puja) told our father that they don’t want to get married till they were financially stable,” Kapil recalls.
Today, Pooja has moved back home after quitting her job at a private firm. Kapil works at a paint company.
It was around 7:30 pm when both sisters had stepped out for the market. Hardly 30 minutes later, the car rammed onto Sita from behind, running down her. The family later donated her eyes.
The 17-year-old’s alcohol test was negative, according to the police, but Sita’s family contests the claim.
“We have spoken to people who were there. Police said that only he and his friend were there, but others have told us that it was a group. They had consumed liquor. How do you run over seven people like this just by losing control? He obviously had either consumed alcohol or some other substance. We aren’t sure what but after hitting one-two persons, who doesn’t stop?” contends Kapil.
“We are poor; nobody cares about us. The police keep telling us that the driver is under 18 and that’s why was let off. Is that our fault?”
The minor was apprehended 14 March and produced the same day before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB). He was booked under Sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way), 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), and 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code, in addition to relevant sections of the Motor Vehicles Act.
The teenager was sent to an observation home, but released 2 April following an undertaking after 20 days. “The minor has to appear before the Hon’ble Board on every date, and will go to school regularly,” DCP (East Delhi) Apoorva Gupta tells ThePrint.
The father, who works as a multi-tasking staff at the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, was booked under similar sections following the investigation. He, however, managed to secure anticipatory bail.
“In cases of accidents caused by minors, the police can hold the parents responsible. The JJ Act is a reformative law. However, negligent parents can be charged with abetment for the crimes the minor is booked under. This has to be set as precedent in cases that warrant the parents or guardians to be held criminally liable and accountable especially when the accident is fatal,” advocate Sarim Naved explains to ThePrint.
“For instance, if the child is booked for death due to negligence or culpable homicide not amounting to murder, the parents or the guardian can be booked for abetting these crimes in addition to sections of the Motor Vehicles Act.”
Also Read: Pune Porsche case: Can the 17-yr-old accused be treated as an adult? Here’s what the law says
Constant paranoia
“He (the teenager) is back to his normal life. We live in constant paranoia that someday another car will come and hit us. Puja is too scared to even step outside the house,” Kapil says.
Unlike the 2020 Delhi accident, the juvenile in this case was booked under Section 304 which is punishable with a maximum punishment of life imprisonment or up to 10 years and fine, or both.
Offences are divided into three categories — petty, serious and heinous — under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
A petty offence refers to crimes that warrant a maximum punishment under the IPC or any other law mandating not more than 3-year imprisonment. While for serious offences, the punishment is between three and seven years, heinous offences draw a minimum of seven-year jail.
However under Section 304 of IPC, there is no minimum sentencing, which is a prerequisite for the offence to be categorised as “heinous”. As per Section 2 (33) of the JJ Act, heinous offences are those which have a “minimum” punishment under the IPC or any other law in force for seven years or more.
Further, if the accused is below 16 years, the JJB conducts an inquiry just like in the case of a “serious offence” through summary proceedings. In the cases where the juvenile in conflict with law is older than 16 years, the Board shall conduct a ‘preliminary assessment’ to decide whether the proceedings should be conducted under normal procedures like an adult or tried by regular procedure for juveniles.
As for serious and heinous offences, there is no automatic termination of the cases and the inquiry period can extend over six months.
Back at Khora Colony, Sita’s family members say that they don’t care whatever the outcome of the JJB inquiry.
“We have accepted that there will be no justice. The sooner one accepts it and moves on, the better it is. Our entire life has changed. There is no going back. He (the teenager) will have a normal life, after some years. He will move on. How will we? There will be no justice for us. It ended the day we were informed that he is 17 years old,” Kapil says with resignation written all over his face.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: Porsche case triggers action, Kanpur minor who ‘ran over’ 2 apprehended after 7 month delay