Mumbai Man Sentenced for Dog Bite Incident: A Case of Negligence?

Court Ruling on Dog Bite Case

Mumbai: A magistrate's court in Mumbai has handed down a four-month prison sentence to a man after his pet dog bit a neighbor in a lift at their residential complex in Worli.

This ruling comes seven years post-incident.

The court noted that Rishabh Patel, 40, displayed a lack of care for his Husky, as highlighted in the ruling issued on May 21, which became public on Wednesday.

Judicial Magistrate First Class Suhas Bhosale found Patel guilty under sections 324 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 289 (negligent conduct with respect to an animal) of the Indian Penal Code. Additionally, a fine of Rs 4,000 was imposed, acknowledging that while the victim's pain cannot be quantified in monetary terms, the compensation might provide some relief.

The incident occurred on February 1, 2018.

According to the prosecution, Ramik Shah was in the lift with his one-and-a-half-year-old son and a servant when Patel attempted to enter with his dog.

Despite Shah's request for Patel to wait due to his son's fear of dogs, Patel ignored him, resulting in the dog biting Shah's left forearm once they were inside the lift.

Following the incident, Shah lodged a complaint at the Worli police station.

During the trial, four witnesses, including Shah, were examined.

The court remarked that the CCTV footage demonstrated Patel's lack of compassion towards his pet, as he forcefully brought the dog into a space intended for human use.

The ruling emphasized that Patel showed disregard for both the complainant and his son, leading to the decision that he should not receive leniency, resulting in a sentence of four months of rigorous imprisonment.