Delhi: ‘Victim’ fails to show up, court acquits man in accident case

The incident from May 12, 2015, took place at 11.30 am near Vasant Vihar. As per court records, the accused, who was allegedly driving a Honda City in a rash manner, hit the car of Serikbossynuly Azat, a Kazakh national. “Thereafter, in order to escape from the spot, he hit the complainant with his car while retreating,” the court document read.

The judge noted: “It is the fundamental right of accused as well, as enumerated in Hussainra Khatoon’s judgment, that criminal trial should be completed at the earliest.”

Following the incident, the complainant gave a written statement to police and the accused was arrested. He was later released on bail. After the chargesheet was filed, the complainant was summoned to appear before the court on July 12, 2018, and September 17, 2018, through the DCP.

The DCP concerned was asked to prepare a report stating whether the complainant was still working in the Kazakhstan Embassy in India. The summons were later issued through the Ministry of External Affairs, and on May 1, 2019, the embassy informed that the summons will be issued to Azat. However, when Azat did not turn up for the court hearing, he was dropped from an array of witnesses.

The police then had to rely on police witnesses, who only dealt with the investigation but had not witnessed the alleged incident. “All other witnesses who have been dropped from the array of witnesses, such as the doctor who prepared the MLC of the victim, the mechanical inspector, who … examined the vehicles involved in the alleged accident, and the superdar do not in any manner go on to prove, or even remotely suggest, that at the time of the accident the accused was driving the offending vehicle either in a rash or in negligent manner,” the judgment read.