A sessions court here has discharged a man of the charge of mischief by killing or maiming cattle, saying his car had accidentally killed a stray dog and there was no deliberate or intentional action on his part.?

The court was hearing a review petition filed by Puneet, against whom a magisterial court had framed charges under Section 429 (mischief by killing or maiming cattle, etc.) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Puneet, who was driving a BMW car at high speed, had run over a stray dog at a traffic signal in Mayur Vihar on June 8, 2019, the prosecution said.?

“The accused is liable to be discharged for the offence under Section 429 of the IPC and the impugned order… is accordingly set aside,” Additional Sessions Judge Deepali Sharma said in a recent order.?

The court said to prove the charge, it was necessary to establish that the accused had the requisite intention or knowledge and from the FIR it was clear that his car had accidentally killed the stray dog.?

“There is no allegation in the FIR that the accused had deliberately or intentionally hit the dog or that he had gone towards the dog to hit it,” the court said.?Though the accused was driving his car at a high speed on the main road, it cannot be said that he hit the dog to commit mischief as defined under the IPC, the court added.?

The Mayur Vihar police station had registered an FIR against Puneet and a magisterial court framed charges against him in March 2022.?Puneet had moved the sessions court against the magisterial court's order to frame charges.

(With PTI inputs)