Bengaluru: The high court enhanced the compensation payable to the parents of Anil Kumar, who died in a road accident in July 2017, to Rs 36.6 lakh with 6 per cent interest, holding that the Tamil Nadu–registered canter was solely responsible for the tragedy.The earlier compensation granted by Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT), Bengaluru, was Rs 9.2 lakh; it had fixed 50 per cent contributory negligence on Kumar and deducted half of the assessed relief.
The accident occurred on July 11, 2017, around 6.30pm, when Kumar was travelling from Kanakapura towards Bengaluru along national highway 209. Near the HP petrol bunk at Thoppaganahalli, the canter hit his car, killing him on the spot. His parents had approached the tribunal seeking Rs 50 lakh compensation, claiming he earned Rs 40,000 per month as a driver.Shriram General Insurance Company Ltd, insurer of the canter, contended that Kumar had contributed equally to the accident by driving in a zigzag manner and further argued that the canter driver did not have a valid driving licence, absolving the insurer of liability.However, eyewitnesses testified that Kumar was driving cautiously on the correct side of the road, while the canter driver, negotiating a curve, drove rashly on the wrong side and caused the collision.Justice K Manmadha Rao said the entire negligence lay with the canter driver and set aside the tribunal’s finding on contributory negligence. On the quantum of compensation, the high court reworked the amount by fixing Kumar’s notional income at Rs 12,000 per month and held that Rs 36.3 lakh was payable towards loss of dependency, as against Rs 18.4 lakh assessed by the tribunal, taking the total compensation to Rs 36.6 lakh.
