A Delhi court has sentenced a man to five years in jail for pushing into a drain a 66-year-old person, who later died during medical treatment, saying the attacker did not have the intention but had the knowledge that his act may cause the victim’s death.

Additional Sessions Judge Satinder Kumar Gautam handed down the jail term to 37-year-old Raman for the offence under section 304 (II) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the IPC and also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on him.

“It can be safely held that in the case in hand, the accused has done the act with the knowledge that it is likely to cause death but without any intention to cause death and caused such bodily injury as is likely to cause death and as such, court is of the view that act committed by accused falls under part II of the Section 304 IPC,” the judge said.

The court, while holding him guilty of the offence, noted that on March 9, 2017 the victim was standing with his son outside a government school in east Delhi when the accused came to snatch a Rs 500 note from him. After an altercation, the accused hit the man with a brick and pushed him into a drain.

The injuries suffered by the old man, who was already suffering from various ailments, were sufficient to cause his death, the court said while noting that he died in hospital during his treatment.

“In the instant case, the convict caused injuries to deceased on account of which he died during medical treatment.

The incident took place on the petty issue of Rs 500…The victim died on March 22, 2017 after succumbing to his injuries as a result of falling in the nallah,” the judge said.

During the trial, the accused denied the allegations claiming he was falsely implicated.

The court, however, jailed him while observing that the courts have to take a balanced view in determining the sentence.

“Proportion between crime and punishment is a goal respected in principle and in spite of errant notions, it remains a strong influence in the determination of sentences.

“After giving due consideration to the facts and circumstances of each case, for deciding just and appropriate sentence to be awarded for an offence, the aggravating and mitigating factors and circumstances in which a crime has been committed are to be delicately balanced on the basis of really relevant circumstances in a dispassionate manner by the court,” the judge observed in his order.