Four years after a truck mowed down a woman riding a motorcycle on the Fazilka-Jalalabad road in Punjab, the Motor Accidents Claim Tribunal has awarded her husband a compensation of ₹23.04 lakh.
Jasveer Singh, a resident of Dila Ram village in Fazilka district, had submitted before the tribunal that his wife, Paramjeet Kaur, was travelling with her sister Balwinder Kaur on a motorcycle being driven by one Malkit Singh on March 18, 2019.
Around 11.30 am, a truck with a Punjab number hit their motorcycle from behind and ran over Paramjeet, killing her on the spot. The driver fled from the site with the truck. An FIR was subsequently registered at the City Jalalabad police station.
Jasveer claimed that his wife, who was just 25 years old at the time of the accident, was killed due to rash and negligent driving of the truck driver.
In his response, the driver, Jarnail Singh of Fazilka district, alleged that there was a dispute of territorial jurisdiction, as he didn’t live in Chandigarh and claimed that no such accident took place.
The truck owner, KC Solvent Extractions Private Limited of Jalalabad West, Fazilka, stated that three people were riding the motorcycle at the time of the accident that was a violation of the Motor Vehicles Act, and therefore, they were not liable to pay any compensation.
{{/usCountry}}The truck owner, KC Solvent Extractions Private Limited of Jalalabad West, Fazilka, stated that three people were riding the motorcycle at the time of the accident that was a violation of the Motor Vehicles Act, and therefore, they were not liable to pay any compensation.
{{/usCountry}}The insurance company, while not admitting to the accident, alleged that the truck driver did not have a valid and effective driving licence and the truck was also being used against the terms and conditions of the insurance policy, as it did not have a valid fitness certificate and permit, at the time of the alleged incident.
The tribunal observed that the negligence of the truck driver was proved by the statement of the eyewitness and drew adverse inference against the driver who didn’t appear before the tribunal to deny his negligence.
“So far as the arguments regarding contributory negligence are concerned, these are also not tenable because for not wearing helmet and by triple riding, the driver and passenger of the motorcycle could have been challaned under the Motor Vehicles Act, but it does not give any licence or permission to the other vehicle drivers to cause the accident with such persons on seeing that they are not following the traffic rules,” the tribunal said, while directing that the liability to pay the compensation was joint and several between the three respondents.