(1.) The respondent Bahadursingh was driving a four wheeler tempo motor vehicle on 28-10-1971 bearing registration No. MRQ 1010 belonging to Pearls Thrend Mills, Tardeo and while he was proceeding on Falkland Road Bridge from west to east in the afternoon, it is alleged, he knocked down Vijay Singh who was attempting to get up from the road where he had fallen from his motor-cycle in attempt to avoid knocking down a child while proceeding from east to west. Vijay Singh died on the said day. The respondent was arrested on the next day. After the completion of the investigation, the respondent was charge-sheeted for the offences under section 304-A I.P.C. and sections 89(a) and (b) read with section 112 of the Motor Vehicles Act. The learned Additional Chief Presidency Magistrate, 4th Court, Girgaum, Bombay, by his order dated 30th June, 1972 acquitted the respondent of all the charges. Being aggrieved of the said order, the State has come in appeal.
(2.) It is not in dispute that the respondent at the material time was on the Falkland Road Bridge driving MRQ 1010 and was proceeding from west to east. It is common ground that the deceased was riding on his motor-cycle on the same bridge from east to west. A boy was seen running across the road from north to south at the foot of the bridge and the deceased applied his brakes to avoid an accident with the boy and in doing so he fell down on the road.
(3.) The prosecution relied upon the evidence of two eye-witnesses Rameshchandra Raja (P.W. 1) and Ashwin Bavani (P.W. 2). Both of them, according to the prosecution were eye-witnesses to the accident resulting in the fall of the deceased from his motor-cycle and the knocking down of the deceased by the respondent by his tempo vehicle. P.W. 2 had lodged the First Information Report, (Ex. D) Dr. Desai (P.W. 6) proved the death of the deceased. Panchanama (Ex. C) was proved by the panch, Chhagan (P.W. 3). The prosecution examined two officers, because the accident was first reported to the Agripada Police Station and subsequently, the case was transferred to the Lamington Road Police Station within whose jurisdiction the accident had taken place and accordingly, S.I. Chavan (P.W. 7) is the real Investigation Officer in this case. The prosecution also examined Indravadan Sheth (P.W. 4) the owner of MRQ 1010 who had produced the respondent at the Police Station on the next day after the accident.