Delhi High Court Convicts Truck Driver For Running Over 2-Year-Old, Invokes 'Res Ipsa Loquitur' Doctrine
The Delhi High Court has convicted a truck driver for causing the death of a two-year-old child in a road accident, invoking the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur and holding that the circumstances of the accident themselves indicated negligence.
Justice Neena Bansal Krishna allowed an appeal filed by the State and set aside a trial court judgment dated December 24, 2019 which had acquitted the accused, Shiv Shankar, of offences under Sections 279 and 304A of the Indian Penal Code.
The case arose from an incident on December 5, 2012 when a two-year-old child, Veer @ Aditya, was run over by a TATA Ace truck allegedly driven in a rash and negligent manner. The child was immediately taken to the hospital by his mother and neighbours but was declared dead.
During investigation, the police recorded statements of witnesses including the child's father, Ashok Kumar, who stated that he saw the truck run over his son who was sitting on the roadside. The owner of the vehicle also confirmed that the truck was being driven by the accused at the time of the incident.
The trial court, however, acquitted the accused on the ground that the prosecution had failed to establish that the vehicle was being driven rashly or negligently.
Challenging the acquittal, the State argued before the High Court that the evidence had not been properly appreciated and that the circumstances clearly demonstrated negligent driving.
The High Court observed that for an offence under Sections 279 and 304A IPC, the prosecution must prove that the accused was driving the vehicle in a rash or negligent manner and that such conduct directly caused the death.
On examining the evidence, the Court found that the accused was apprehended at the spot along with the offending vehicle and had admitted in his statement under Section 313 CrPC that the child came under his vehicle when he started it.
The Court further relied on the site plan prepared during the investigation, which showed that the truck had deviated from the main road to the roadside area where the child was sitting before running over him.
Justice Krishna noted that these circumstances themselves indicated negligence on the part of the driver.
“It is actually a case of res ipsa loquitur, where the circumstances itself speak of negligence of the respondent…(it) is very much applicable in the present case, when the nature of accident and attending circumstances would reasonably lead to the conclusion that in absence of negligence, the accident would not have occurred,” the Court observed.
The maxim serves a two-fold purpose:
Firstly, where an accident is caused by negligence for which the opposite party is responsible and secondly, it is applied even in cases where the complainant is able to prove the accident but cannot prove how the accident occurred.
The Court also held that the trial court erred in discarding the testimony of the child's father as an eyewitness merely on minor discrepancies, observing that his presence at the spot stood corroborated by other evidence on record.
As such, the Court set aside the acquittal and convicted the respondent for offences punishable under Sections 279 and 304A IPC.
The matter has been listed for hearing on the question of sentence on April 01.
Appearance: Mr. Shoaib Haider, APP for State.
Case title: State v. Shiv Shanker
Case no.: Crl.A.109/2026