MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court recently reduced the compensation awarded to a road accident victim's family by 20% citing contributory negligence as the victim was not wearing a helmet and did not possess a valid driving license during the accident, which took place in 2016.
A Bench of justices RMT Teekaa Raman and PB Balaji passed the order on an appeal filed by the insurance company, with which the car that hit the victim's two-wheeler was insured.
According to the order, the deceased, aged 32, was working in Singapore and was visiting his family in India. On June 12, 2016, while he was riding a two-wheeler from Tiruchy to Rameswaram on National Highways, a car that came on the wrong side of the road, hit his two-wheeler, causing him head injuries, which resulted in his death.
Hearing a petition filed by his wife and parents seeking compensation, a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal in Sivagangai directed the insurance company to pay Rs 78.88 lakh as compensation. Challenging this, the insurance company filed the appeal in 2021.
The company claimed that the compensation amount was excessive. It also alleged that the deceased was not wearing a helmet or possessed a valid driving license at the time of the accident. The deceased's family had also filed a cross objection seeking enhancement of compensation.
Hearing both sides, the judges recalculated the compensation amount and enhanced it to Rs 91.23 lakh. However, considering the allegations that the deceased did not wear a helmet or have a driving license during the accident, they reduced the compensation amount by 20% and directed the company to pay the amount within six weeks.