Bihar BJP MLA convicted in 2018 firing case

The judgement was passed by special judge Vishal Gogne of Rouse Avenue courts, wherein Singh was convicted under Indian Penal Code section 304 (II) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and under section 30 of the Arms Act (punishment for contravention of license or rule). The MLA was arrested on January 2, 2019, and has been out on bail since February 8, 2019.

The court noted that since the accused was firing from a deadly weapon such as a pistol in a crowded party with people dancing on the dance floor, interacting with each other and exchanging pleasantries around midnight, the area was teeming with people and therefore “it was a manifestly dangerous act for accused Raju Kumar Singh to have been using a firearm to fire multiple rounds with his pistol”.

The court has also ordered that the MLA be taken into judicial custody, while listing the matter for June 9 for arguments on the point of sentence. The maximum punishment for the offences is three years of imprisonment.