The Crown has stayed charges of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle against a Merritt man accused of attempting to run over his wife following a family argument last summer.

The charge against 39-year-old Steve Gurjant Ahuja was dropped in court in Merritt on Wednesday (March 29) and he agreed to a one-year peace bond.

The order requires him to stay out of the family residence, and not have any direct or indirect contact with his wife except for the purposes of family court proceedings and to facilitate access to his nine-year-old son. He will also have to attend alcohol counselling, and may not possess or consume alcohol or drugs within 12 hours of being in contact with his wife.

According to the Crown, the incident took place on July 9 during a family gathering which included multiple relatives who had flown in from India.

“It was a very stressful time in the Ahuja family,” Crown prosecutor Neil Flanagan said in court. “Mr. Ahuja was retreating from things occurring in his home. He went into the garage, he was sleeping in a car, he was being encouraged to come back into the home — he didn’t want to,” said Flanagan.

He said Ahuja backed the vehicle out of the driveway to leave the property, but executed the maneuver in a careless manner near his wife who was concerned for her safety.

Flanagan and defense lawyer Jay Michi believe the conditions of the peace bond will adequately address the concerns that arose from this incident.

In court Michi said it was beneficial that Ahuja wasn’t given any driving prohibitions as he may return to a taxi business he used to run in town since being laid off from the now closed Tolko mill.

“He is very mindful of how [close he] came to losing his license and the impact this has had on himself and his family,” said Michi.

Ahuja did not wish to add any further comment when asked if he wanted to by justice Stella Frame.

“Whatever drove you to that point — whether it was rage or desperation on that day — you have to control that, because much worse things could have happened,” said Frame, adding that she would imposed the peace bond.