BENGALURU: Observing that filing of a ‘B’ report by police, stating that the driver was not found guilty of rash and negligent driving, will not absolve KSRTC of liability, the Karnataka High Court directed the transport corporation to compensate a commuter for causing injuries. It cited the reason as ‘gross negligence’, for assigning a bus with a mechanical defect.
Justice Hanchate Sanjeevkumar passed the order while allowing the appeal filed by P Chandraprabha from Kunthanahalli village of T Narasipura taluk of Mysuru district, against dismissal of the claim by Motor Vehicles Accident Tribunal.
Chandraprabha, a 30-year-old teacher at the Government Primary School, suffered a fracture in her right leg and hospitalised for 12 days. “The claimant is entitled to compensation of `1,30,000, with interest at a rate of 6% per annum from the date of petition till the date of realisation,” the court said, quashing the Tribunal’s order.
The Tribunal had rejected the claim on the ground that police filed a ‘B’ report against the bus driver, and the claimant neither produced the report nor challenged it. “The claimant was constrained to alight from the bus after the engine caught fire. The act of tort is to be considered... due to negligence of assigning a bus which has a mechanical defect by the KSRTC,” the court observed.
The claimant was travelling from HD Kote to Mysuru after work at 5.30pm on August 22, 2012. The driver was driving the bus at a reckless speed. The engine of the bus caught fire, and when the passengers were alighting, the driver moved the bus and the claimant fell, sustaining injuries to her right leg.
