Gaurav Gill granted bail for 'accidental death' in Jodhpur

India’s ace rally driver and Arjuna awardee Gaurav Gill, who was booked under Section 304A or ‘causing death by negligence’, during the National Rally Championship in Jodhpur last month, was granted "bail pending trial" by Jodhpur city court, a statement released by Gill’s spokesperson said. The tragic incident had claimed three lives at the third round of the 2019 Indian National Rally Championship’s in Jodhpur last month.

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Initial statement

Initially, it was stated that Gill had been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder (Section 304 in the Indian Penal Code). However, it was later learnt that Gil had been booked under Section 304A or ‘causing death by negligence’, which carries a lighter penalty. The statement read:

"The incident happened after Gill’s car had collided with a bike that strayed onto an active rally stage, despite the stretch being cordoned off and closed to the public." "Gill appeared before the Court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate - Siwana, Jodhpur and the Court on considering the totality of facts and circumstances granted him bail pending trial."  

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"He has been extending complete support and cooperation to all the concerned authorities since the beginning of the investigation. In compliance with the Indian law and judicial procedures, he presented himself before the Court on Saturday, Oct 19’19, as required by the police and on evaluation of the facts and thorough investigation, the police has found that it is clearly a case of accident and not 304 IPC." it said.  

"It is also clarified that the investigating agency didn’t call upon Mr Gill to make an in-person appearance before them until October 9, 2019. Thus, putting to rest all the speculations regarding him escaping the investigation process," it added. "He is deeply saddened by the unfortunate incident and continues to pray for the bereaved family. As a true sportsman, the Arjuna Awardee car rally driver, Gaurav Gill is set to come back prepared in the forthcoming fourth round of Indian National Rally Championship scheduled from Nov 1-3 in Kochi."

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Mahindra Adventure's decision after the incident

Gill's team Mahindra Adventure had earlier decided to pull out of the remainder of the 2019 INRC, following the incident in Jodhpur and the manner in which it was handled by the organisers and the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI). However, instead of skipping the final three rounds, the management has decided Mahindra Adventure will be back in the field and will work towards generating awareness about safety in motorsport. Autocar India said:

"While this is a step in the right direction, we firmly believe that Gill should be acquitted of all charges – and hopefully the law will take the right course and overturn the 304A penalty he has been slapped with."

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