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D. Murali

IT WAS a freak accident that kept the Uttaranchal High Court busy recently. When bus No. DL IP 1706 reached Jhankaya stop, Khatima, the conductor Niyaj Ahamad got down, climbed on to the roof of bus to download the luggage of a passenger.

"When he was coming down from the roof of the bus, the driver of the bus started the bus and Niyaj Ahamad fell down from the stairs of the bus. He sustained head injury in the accident and he was rushed to the Civil Hospital, Khatima, from where he was referred to Bareilly but he succumbed to the injuries on the way when he was being carried to Bareilly Hospital," read the facts of the case.

Ahamad was earning Rs 3,900 p.m. at the time of his death, and a claim was filed for a compensation of Rs 6,80,000. Foremost among the issues before the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Haldwani, District Nainital, was whether the accident took place due to negligent act by the driver of the bus.

The driver stated on oath that when Ahamad was unloading the luggage "some miscreant rang the bell" and that he started the bus due to which the conductor fell down from the roof of the bus.

The bus owner admitted that the accident had happened causing the death of Ahamad, but said that the compensation claimed was highly exaggerated.

He also averred that since the bus was comprehensively insured, it was the insurer who was liable to pay compensation. However, New India Assurance Co alleged that the driver had no valid driving licence.

The tribunal dismissed the compensation claim stating that the claimants had filed no documentary evidence to prove that the accident actually occurred. No report of the accident was lodged in the police station and the doctor of the hospital had not examined, said the tribunal; there was no panchayatnama, nor was any post-mortem examination report filed, added the tribunal.

When, therefore, the case reached the portals of the High Court, Justices Rajesh Tandon and J. C. S. Rawat noted that one of the papers filed by the claimants was a medical slip of primary health centre (PHC) Khatima. It clearly showed that Ahamad had been admitted to the PHC on May 1, 2002, due to accidental injuries and that the police had also been informed.

"The Medical Officer of that PHC has made endorsement to this effect on the medical slip. The Medical Officer referred the injured to the District Hospital or any higher centre for further treatment and advice," said the court.

Further there was oral evidence from a passenger to prove the fact that Ahamad sustained fatal injuries in the accident and died due to such injuries, observed the judges.

With the available evidence, the court ruled that Ahamad died due to the injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident "due to rash and negligent driving by the driver of the bus". Either the deceased died on the way or at the hospital, it is clear that he was declared dead at the hospital and he was not treated any more at Bareilly hospital, said the court, and opined that the tribunal was not justified in deciding the issue against the petitioner.

Annual salary was taken at Rs 46,800 (that is, at Rs 3,900 p.m.), and one-third deducted for expenses if the deceased had been alive to compute `the annual dependency of the claimants on the income of the deceased' as Rs 31,200.

"The age of the deceased at the time of accident was 25 years and thus according to the Second Schedule of MV Act, a multiplier of 18 should be applied to the present case," said the court to arrive at Rs 5,61,600, before adding a further Rs 7,000 for funeral expenses, loss of estate and loss of consortium.

A case of a slip and a deadly fall where a medical slip could rescue the situation for the aggrieved.

LawLane@TheHindu.co.in

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