New Delhi: A Delhi court on Saturday sentenced Bihar BJP MLA Raju Kumar Singh to four years in prison after celebratory gunfire at his South Delhi farmhouse on New Year’s Eve 2018 killed a woman. In a strongly worded judgment, Special Judge Vishal Gogne criticized the culture of gun-waving and said “we need neither a Singham nor a Pushpa in a state governed by the rule of law”.
Court Censures Gun Culture
“We need neither a Singham nor a Pushpa in a state governed by the rule of law. The brazen act of firing by Raju Kumar Singh was, however, an inspiration to both such aspirations,” Judge Gogne observed, invoking the two film protagonists known for extra-legal displays of violence. The court added that such conduct by an elected representative can prompt imitation, as reported by Hindustan Times.
The judge also ordered Singh to pay ₹25 lakh in compensation to the family of the victim, 45-year-old Archana Gupta.
“The court finds it quite foreseeable that such acts of firing by a MLA embolden others to emulate such conduct in similar or even larger measure. The rank and file of those who seek macho gratification with the imagery of guns being fired would include not only the lawless criminals but also uniform clad protectors of the law,” the order said.
Four-Year Term, Additional Penalty
Singh was convicted last month under IPC Section 304 (Part II) for culpable homicide not amounting to murder with knowledge, and under Arms Act provisions for violating licence conditions. The offence under Section 304 (Part II) carries a maximum penalty of ten years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both.
“The court is of the satisfaction that a sentence of four years upon the convict would be an apposite and suitably stringent punishment for the commission of the offence under section 304 (Part II),” Judge Gogne wrote, adding that the four-year term should give the convict time for reflection and reform while serving as a deterrent to reckless firing by politicians and others.
The judge imposed an additional two-month sentence under section 30 of the Arms Act, to run consecutively with the four-year term.
Conviction May Trigger Disqualification
The order warned that public displays of firearm use by legislators can fuel an illicit gun ecosystem. “Considering that certain states in India are known to harbour illicit production facilities for local firearms, the sight of a MLA acting like a strongman by untrammelled use of firearms, even on social occasions, encourages an ecosystem of illicit firearms,” Judge Gogne said.
Because Indian law disqualifies elected representatives sentenced to two years or more unless a higher court stays the conviction, the ruling is likely to cost Singh his Assembly membership.
