MADURAI: Observing that the high court has to award just and reasonable compensation in road accident cases even in the absence of any appeal by victims seeking enhancement of compensation, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recently increased the compensation awarded by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal of Srivilliputhur to the family of a 36-year-old man, who died after being run over by a government bus in 2015.
Justice Sunder Mohan made the decision while dismissing an appeal filed by the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) - Madurai division against an order passed by the tribunal directing it to pay Rs 14.34 lakh compensation to the deceased Muthukumar's family. A perusal of the high court's order revealed that Muthukumar, a painter, was run over by a government bus when he was trying to board it on May 18, 2015.
Though the tribunal concluded that the accident happened due to the negligence of the bus driver, the TNSTC denied the involvement of the bus. It further claimed that the deceased had stolen a mobile phone and while trying to escape a mob that was chasing him for the theft, he sustained injuries resulting in his death.
However, Justice Mohan refused to interfere with the tribunal's finding. He pointed out that the bus conductor had stated in his complaint that the deceased was run over by the bus, but had later taken a contradictory stand denying the involvement of the bus while deposing before the court. Even though the victim's family had not filed an appeal seeking enhancement of compensation, the judge modified the compensation amount in accordance with the Supreme Court's guidelines, thereby enhancing it by Rs 3.48 lakh.