Parents of girl killed in Kangra school bus accident get ₹5-lakh relief

The school bus had fallen into a 250-metre-deep gorge due to rash and negligent driving by the driver, the parents had alleged.

The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) has awarded a compensation of over Rs 5 lakh to a Kangra-based couple, who lost their seven-year-old daughter in an accident in April 2018.

Around 30 passengers were in the bus when it fell into a gorge near Nurpur in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh on April 9, 2018. (PTI File Photo)

Seema Devi, 30, and Parveen Kumar, 40, of Ther Fangota village, Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh, had filed a complaint against the principal of Wazir Ram Singh Pathania Memorial Public School, Gurchal village, Kangra, and National Insurance Company Limited, Sector 17-C, Chandigarh.

In their petition, they stated that on April 9, 2018, their daughter, Ritika Devi, was returning home in her school bus.

“The vehicle was being driven at a fast speed and in a rash and negligent manner by driver Madan Lal. There were about 30 passengers in the bus. Lal lost control of the vehicle as he reached near Cheli Khuther village and it fell into a 250-metre-deep gorge,” the parents mentioned in the petition.

Their daughter died in the accident that also claimed the life of the driver.

The school authorities responded that no such accident took place as alleged, so the claim petition was not maintainable and the amount claimed (Rs 75 lakh) was highly exaggerated.

The insurer stated that neither this court had the jurisdiction to try the petition nor had the cause of action accrued within the territorial jurisdiction of this court. Also, the driver didn’t have a valid licence.

After hearing the arguments, the tribunal directed both respondents to pay a compensation of Rs 5.05 lakh, along with 7.5% interest per annum from the date of filing of the petition.