Geeta Gupta (22), wife of Rajesh Gupta, died after their car in crashed into a stationary tanker on the Rohtak road. Additional Sessions Judge Virender Kumar Goyal held Nangloi resident Rajesh Gupta guilty of driving the car rashly, leading to the death of his wife. The couple married a month before the mishap in August 1999.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 7 lakh on Rajesh. The sum has to paid as compensation to Geeta’s parents.

Geeta’s parents had filed the case against Rajesh, alleging that his family had also been harassing Geeta for dowry. The court, however, dismissed the more serious charge of dowry death against Rajesh.

Rajesh was held guilty of rash driving after the driver of the tanker testified that his vehicle rolled forward due to the impact.

The court said this “shows that the impact was so forceful that it moved a big and heavy vehicle like a tanker. The front portion of the Maruti car (which Rajesh was driving) went inside the back portion of the tanker.”

Gupta’s advocates had asked the court to pronounce a lenient sentence since he had already faced a 13-year-long trial, but the court dismissed the plea.

Noting that Geeta’s parents has “suffered a setback” due to the death of their 22-year-old daughter, the court said: “No case is made out in favour of convict Rajesh Gupta to release him on probation of good conduct.”