MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recently directed the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) to pay Rs 2.98 lakh in compensation to the family of a retired sub-collector who died in a bus accident in 2005. According to an order passed by Justice R Tharani, the deceased, Subramanian and his wife Yogalakshmi, were travelling from Pudukkottai to Ramanathapuram in a bus on November 25, 2005.
When the bus was crossing the Kottakarai river bridge, there was a heavy flow of water, which made the bus fall into the river, resulting in the couple's death. Holding the driver responsible for the accident, the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal of Ramanathapuram had directed the transport corporation to pay `2.98 lakh compensation to Subramanian's children in 2012, challenging which TNSTC filed an appeal five years later.
The TNSTC claimed that the bus capsized only because the passengers had assembled on one side of the bus to watch the water flow, causing the bus to lose its balance. But Justice Tharani, who heard the appeal, opined that the accident took place due to the negligence of the bus driver in deciding to cross the river when the bridge was flooding with water. She, therefore, dismissed the appeal with a direction to the TNSTC to pay the compensation (if not already paid) within two months.