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2012 DIGILAW 1542 (PNJ)

Amar Kaur v. Harchand Singh

2012-10-30

K.Kannan

body2012
JUDGMENT Mr. K. Kannan, J. (Oral):- The appeal is against the dismissal of the petition for compensation for death that was found to have occurred by the involvement of the vehicle belonging to the PRTC bus bearing No.PJG-7443. The Tribunal found that the petitioner had not proved that the accident was the result of negligent driving of the driver of the bus. 2. Before the Tribunal, evidence of two eyewitnesses, who were co-passengers in the bus, had been examined. The accident had taken place on 10.03.1988 at 5 PM. The evidence was that the deceased was trying to get down at Sirhind road bye-pass turning and the bus, which had slowed down, had not fully stopped, but picked up speed at the signal when the Conductor gave the whistle. Consequently, the deceased fell down and came unde the tyre of the vehicle. He was crushed at the back wheel of the bus and taken to the A.P.Jain Hospital where he died. This evidence was given by PW-5 and PW-6, Kartar Singh, who was said to be yet another witness supported the same version. However, the Court found that there was discrepancy about the identity of the deceased and, therefore, the driver of the bus could not be made responsible. The Tribunal found that the two witnesses, who did not know the name of the driver, did not implicate the respondent-driver and, therefore, negligence could not be established. 3. I find the reasoning of the Tribunal to be totally wrong and shocking. Where the involvement of the vehicle was brought through evidence and the Tribunal also had before it an entry in the DDR entered on the same day at 6.30 PM when some of the passengers had informed the police that an accident had taken place resulting in death of a person, police had proceeded with collection of evidence. On securing the identity of the person that died and having regard to the version given that the accident had taken place at the time when the deceased was trying to alight from a moving vehicle, the police was making a report to the Court in terms of the information obtained under Section 174 Cr.P.C. Before the Court, the driver himself gave evidence completely denying the accident. The entry in the DDR at least showed that it was the driver who took him to the hospital but he was brought dead and, therefore, the driver’s contention that the vehicle was not involved in the accident was found to be false. 4. Here, in this case, there was a clear evidence of two witnesses, who spoke about the slowing down of the bus and the sudden acceleration of the bus on account of whistle blown by the Conductor even before the passenger fully alighted. This evidence could have been explained by the Driver that even before he stopped the vehicle, the deceased had gotten down and he had not accelerated the vehicle suddenly resulting in the passenger to fall out of the vehicle. If this explanation had been forthcoming, it could have been natural and could have exculpated the driver. On the other hand, if the driver was completely denying the accident, then the inference must only be that the witnesses PW-5 and PW-6 had spoken about the negligent act of the driver in accelerating the bus even before the passenger got down from the vehicle. This evidence itself is sufficient to render the respondent-driver as being guilty of negligent driving. The exoneration of the driver has been occasioned on a wrong reasoning of the Tribunal that the two witnesses did not give cogent evidence about the identity of the driver, who drove the vehicle on that day. If the driver himself did not deny that he was driving the vehicle, then the fact that a person died must have resulted only due to the driving of the respondent in a negligent manner as spoken to by PW5 and PW6. The Tribunal was clearly wrong in finding that the witnesses did not involve the respondent Harchand Singh for rash and negligent driving. If the witnesses did not know the name of the driver, it was only natural that a passenger could not have known the name, unless he was previously acquainted. The logical reasoning that a person died on a particular day by the bus running over him and a DDR entry referred that the driver himself had taken the deceased to the hospital, the Court must have seen that the driver had something to hide. The logical reasoning that a person died on a particular day by the bus running over him and a DDR entry referred that the driver himself had taken the deceased to the hospital, the Court must have seen that the driver had something to hide. Section 134 of the Motor Vehicles Act casts a responsibility for a driver to not merely provide medical help, but also give a report to the police as soon as possible and preferably not later than 24 hours. The driver failed in every count in the statutory responsibility that the Act enjoins. 5. The Tribunal ought to have found, under the circumstances that the driver was clearly uttering falsehood and must even proceeded to take appropriate action for perjury in Court under Section 340 of the Criminal Procedure Code. I do not mean to set the procedure in process at this length of time, but I find the evidence sufficient and the conduct despicable on the part of the driver to deny the accident itself. The issue would therefore require to be considered only on the quantum of compensation that was payable. 6. The deceased was 50 years of age and he was a Class-III employee, drawing Rs. 1,065/- per month. Having regard to the fact that the accident took place in the year 1988, I would take the average contribution to the family at Rs. 1,500/- per month, making a provision for escalation in the rise in salary for the rest of the years of service and adopt a multiplier of 13 as suggested by the Supreme Court in Sarla Verma and others Versus Delhi Transport Corporation and another, [2009(3) Law Herald (SC) 2107 : 2010(1) Law Herald (Acc.) (SC) 65. ] : 2009 ACJ 1298 . The loss of dependency shall be taken as Rs. 2,34,000/- and would provide for conventional heads of claim like loss to estate, loss of love and affection, a further sum of Rs. 16,000/- to round off the claim at Rs. 2,50,000/-. 7. It is a poignant case of the claimants not even having been informed about the death of the person and the Municipal Committee cremating the body even without tracing the members of the family. Intense mental agony that could have been caused could be easily visualized, but I am not factoring the same for compensation itself. 2,50,000/-. 7. It is a poignant case of the claimants not even having been informed about the death of the person and the Municipal Committee cremating the body even without tracing the members of the family. Intense mental agony that could have been caused could be easily visualized, but I am not factoring the same for compensation itself. I state this to see how callous the public authorities have been, one, the public Corporation who was the owner of the bus taking no part to placate the trauma of death to the claimants and allowing irresponsible statement of the driver to deny the accident itself and the Municipal Committee cremating the body even without identifying by the relatives. 8. The amount determined as payable by the respondents will also attract interest at 12% from the date of petition till date of payment. 12% interest is in keeping with some of the recent decisions of the Supreme Court which have provided for higher rate of interest and also considering the despicable conduct of the driver and the liability of the Corporation in that regard. 9. The appeal is allowed to the above extent. --------0.B.S.0------------