A woman and her infant were killed in an accident in Chennai, but the motorist responsible is unlikely to face an extended jail sentence.

An engineer was found guilty of causing death by negligence, but because the prosecution could not establish that he was driving under the influence, he was sentenced to just two years in prison.

An engineer, N Nihal (24), was found guilty by a city court of causing the deaths of a 26-year-old woman and her eight-month-old child in a motorcycle accident. He was sentenced to two years in prison for causing death by negligence. However, the prosecution could not prove that he was intoxicated at the time of the incident, as they failed to authenticate the breathalyser test and drunkenness certificate, which would have warranted a harsher sentence.

According to the prosecution, Nihal was riding his KTM bike without a helmet when he struck pedestrian S Poonguzhali and her child near Anna Arch. The woman died at the scene, while the infant was pronounced dead at the hospital.

During the trial, charges against Nihal’s female friend, who was riding pillion, were dismissed by the Madras High Court. Nihal faced charges under sections 279 (rash driving) and 304 (ii) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code, along with sections of the Motor Vehicles Act.

The prosecution presented evidence showing that a breathalyser test indicated an alcohol level of 109 mg/100 ml of blood, exceeding the permissible limit of 30 mg. However, Nihal’s defense challenged the reliability of the tests, questioning the calibration of the breathalyser, which had last been calibrated three months prior to the accident. The prosecution could not sufficiently substantiate the drunkenness certificate.

The sessions court concluded that, since the prosecution did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Nihal was under the influence at the time of the accident, the charge of culpable homicide was not applicable. The court noted that while Nihal was responsible for riding the bike that caused the accident, he could only be convicted under Section 304 (a) (causing death by negligence) and was sentenced to two years in prison. Legal experts suggest that, given the sentence is less than three years, he may not spend any time in jail.

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