Supreme Court sentences Alistair Pereira to three years in prison

New Delhi: Alistair Anthony Pereira will have to go to jail for three years. The Supreme Court has cancelled his bail and agreed with the Bombay High Court, which had found Mr Pereira guilty of running seven people over while he was drunk in Mumbai. 

The Supreme Court said, "It is high time that law makers revisit the sentencing policy reflected in Section 304 A IPC (death due to negligence). It is true that the appellant has paid compensation of Rs. 8, 50,000 but no amount of compensation could relieve the family of victims from the constant agony. "

The Supreme Court also said that it considers a three-year sentence meager, but cannot increase the time in prison because the state of Maharashtra didn't appeal for a tougher sentence.

In November 2006, Mr Pereira was 21 years old when he lost control of his Toyota Corolla on the city's famous Carter Road seafront. Mr Pereira drove onto a group of construction workers sleeping on the road. Seven people died, eight were injured.

Mr Pereira was initially sentenced to six months in jail by a Mumbai court; this provoked much criticism. The Bombay High Court then intervened and enhanced the jail term to three years, convicting Mr Pereira of unintentional killing.

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Mr Pereira appealed against this order in the Supreme Court and was given bail in 2007.

Mr Pereira, who comes from a wealthy family of real estate developers, was returning from a party at a five-star hotel; four other friends were in his car when the tragedy occurred. When being taken into the Khar police station, hours after the accident, he told reporters that it was a "mistake", and that "mistakes happen." His friends tried to hide their faces; Mr Pereira's comments were seen to imply a lack of remorse. Blood tests revealed that Mr Pereira had been drinking before he began his journey home.

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