HC grants bail to Nooriya Haveliwala

The Bombay High Court Friday granted bail to Nooriya Haveliwala, the NRI sentenced last November to five-year rigorous imprisonment for rash and negligent driving leading to death of two persons including a traffic policeman in January 2010.

In an operative order, Justice R P Sondurbaldota granted bail pending hearing of her appeal against the conviction, and the appeal of the state government seeking enhancement of jail term to 10 years and challenging her being acquitted of Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act charges.

A copy of the full order would be made available to Haveliwala and the prosecution in a few days.

Along with several sections of the Indian Penal Code, the special NDPS court had found Haveliwala guilty under section 304 (II) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).

The court had convicted her for rash and negligent driving but she had been acquitted of NDPS Act charges.

Nooriya, the only daughter of Yusuf Haveliwala, a psychiatrist working with the US Army, had on January 30, 2010, rammed her SUV into seven people, killing two persons including a traffic cop and injuring five others, including four other policemen.

The trial court had observed, "The accused (Nooriya) cannot deny her knowledge of the repercussions of such (drunken) driving that it may cause culpable homicide not amounting to murder."

Earlier, Justice A M Thipsay, who had partly heard her bail application, had questioned application of section 304 (II) of the Indian Penal Code in accident cases.

Section 304 (II) refers to culpable homicide not amounting to murder "if the act is done with the 'knowledge' that it is likely to cause death, but without any intention to cause death, or to cause such bodily injury as is likely to cause death." Justice Thipsay had then asked, "How do you attribute 'knowledge'?"

ALSO READ

Teen raped at birthday party, sold to man

Alleged bomb planter Siddiqui claims ATS threatened to kill him

Cops pin hopes on CCTV footage to arrest acid attack accused

BMC single window to help people check legality of flats