MADURAI: Cautioning parents not to allow their children to ride two-wheelers without a valid licence, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recently fixed 50% contributory negligence on a road accident victim and reduced the compensation awarded to his family members.
The deceased, M Muthumani (19) of Virudhunagar, died on April 7, 2018, when the two-wheeler in which he was travelling was hit by a lorry. Holding the lorry driver liable for the accident, the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal and Additional District Court of Virudhunagar, on January 20, 2022, ordered the insurance company concerned to pay Rs 16.92 lakh compensation to Muthumani's family. Challenging this, the insurance company filed an appeal.
Hearing the appeal, Justice N Sathish Kumar noted from the pillion rider's statement that the accident had taken place when the deceased overtook the lorry in a rash and negligent manner. Moreover, he did not possess a valid driving licence, the judge noted and opined that though the lorry driver ought to have applied brakes and prevented the accident, some amount of contributory negligence should be fixed on the deceased too.
He reduced the compensation amount by 50% but increased the youth's notional income from Rs 8,000 to Rs 12,000, which brought the final compensation amount to Rs 9.62 lakh. Before concluding, the judge observed that the court is frequently coming across such accidents involving students.
He stated that this is due to parents not exercising any control over the students in the matter and letting them ride motorcycles without a valid licence. Such action not only leads to loss of life but would seriously affect society, the judge expressed and advised parents to be very careful and not allow their children to ride two-wheelers without a valid licence.