CHENNAI: Rejecting the argument that a 33-year-old man who was run over by a TNSTC bus in Salem may have played a part in his own death by standing right in the middle of the bus stand, the Madras HC directed the transport corporation to pay Rs 1.04 crore to the family of the deceased.
A division bench comprising Justice J Nisha Banu and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy passed the order even as the corporation argued that the man was not standing at the bus bay as he was supposed to and was standing right in the middle of the bus stand.
“In the Indian context, it is common knowledge that the passengers enter the bus stand and the platform from all directions, and so far, the bus stands are not provided with bus bays with access only through subways or overhead platforms with due gates, which is the case in railway stations and airports and it is the case in bus stands in many other countries,” the court said.
In 2016, the victim, Kumar, who was employed at a private firm as assistant manager was run over when the driver was reversing the bus.