A university student has been jailed for driving away from court moments after a judge had banned him from the road.
Saif Shaikh, 20, appeared at Manchester Crown Court on Wednesday, 1st May 2019. He pleaded guilty to a charge of causing injury by dangerous driving, contrary to section 1A of the Road Traffic Act 1988. The maximum penalty for the offence is 5 year's imprisonment for conviction on indictment, as is the case here.
The charge relates to an incident last November, when Shaikh ran over a woman on Upper Brook Street in Manchester.
HHJ Timothy Smith adjourned Shaikh's sentencing for reports and imposed an interim driving disqualification, telling the business and finance student that he was banned from driving with immediate effect. According to reports, Shaikh nodded to confirm that he had understood the judge's instructions.
No sooner had he left the court building, did Shaikh jump into his Volkswagen Polo and drive the 40 miles home to Bradford. Unfortunately for him a Manchester Evening News photographer witnessed his defiance of the driving ban and took several photographs to prove it.
Shaikh was arrested by police in Bradford on Thursday, 2nd May and appeared at Manchester and Salford Magistrates' Court on Friday, 3rd May. He admitted charges of driving whilst disqualified and driving without insurance.
District Judge James Hatton told him: "Probation have told me you have expressed remorse but at the same time you have sought to blame others and sought to avoid culpability.
"You were well aware you were disqualified from driving. You were given that indication by a Crown Court judge but you chose for reasons best known to yourself to immediately leave the court building and get into your car and drive the not inconsiderable distance to your home address.
"It's difficult to image a more flagrant breach of a court order."
Judge Hatton imposed an immediate custodial sentence of 12 week's imprisonment.
Shaikh offered probation officers the implausible excuse that he had not understood that being disqualified with immediate effect meant he was unable to drive with immediate effect,
I am confident that Judge Smith would have been very clear in his words to Shaikh when he imposed the interim disqualification.
In my experience, whenever Magistrates impose an interim disqualification they are clear that "you are banned from driving any motor vehicle on a road or public place from this moment forward". That is often followed up with something along the lines of "this means that you will not be able to drive away after leaving the court building today and you may need to make alternative arrangements for your onward travel". There is also a reminded that driving when disqualified is a very serious offence, which can lead to a custodial sentence.
It is a shame Shaikh didn't heed those warnings.
This case is a perfect demonstration of why the Magistrates' Courts needs to retain the ability to sentence offenders to short custodial sentences.
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