E-Paper
MACT awards ₹64.79 lakh compensation to head constable’s kin
Ordering the respondents to pay compensation of ₹64,79,200 to the kin of the Ludhiana-based head constable, the court said that his mother, wife, daughter and son would be entitled to ₹65,000 each
Five years after a Ludhiana-based head constable was fatally injured while disembarking from a bus, the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal (MACT) has directed the Punjab Roadways director, bus driver and Jagraon depot manager to pay a compensation of ₹64.79 lakh to his kin.
On September 10, 2017, the victim, Gurvinder Singh, 46, had boarded a bus to Chandigarh from Samrala Chowk in Ludhiana. The accused bus driver, Manjit Singh, stopped the bus at Ziri Mandi Chowk in Sector 39, Chandigarh, for the passengers to disembark. However, he abruptly accelerated just as the victim was stepping down, causing him to suffer grievous injuries. As per eyewitnesses, instead of helping the victim, the driver and conductor moved Gurvinder’s body to the footpath and fled.
In his response, the driver claimed that no such mishap had taken place, while the Punjab Roadways director and depot manager said that the story had been concocted to claim compensation. Praying for dismissal of the claim petition, they said that there was no designated bus stop at the spot where the mishap allegedly took place and that nobody had taken note of the registration number of the bus involved.
The prosecution examined an eyewitness, Ravinder Pal, who had been travelling from Mohali, Phase 10, to Maloya on the day of the mishap. Pal said that the driver had been speeding, and after the mishap he moved the victim’s body to the footpath with the help of the conductor. Pal and other onlookers had taken the victim to the hospital.
Ordering the respondents to pay ₹64,79,200 to the kin of the victim, the court said that his mother, wife, daughter and son would be entitled to ₹65,000 each. Observing that his son had not been dependent on Gurvinder at the time of the mishap, it ordered that 40% of the remaining sum be given to the victim’s wife and 30% to his mother and daughter.
