Accident victim gets a Rs 47.5-lakh compensation

A Delhi court has awarded Rs 47.5 lakh to a teenage girl who was paralysed from waist to feet in a road accident. The court noted that the accident has made the girl dependent on others for doing her daily chores.

A Delhi court has awarded Rs 47.5 lakh to a teenage girl who was paralysed from waist to feet in a road accident. The court noted that the accident has made the girl dependent on others for doing her daily chores.

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Motor Accident Claim Tribunal Judge Swarna Kanta Sharma said, "No amount of money can compensate for her pleasure of growing into a young woman. No one can give her the companion or the bliss of marriage and pleasure of procreation of children."

Jyoti Singh met with an accident while travelling from Delhi to Jaipur in a car in December 2007 with her father KS Meena, a deputy director in Delhi government's education ministry.

A rashly driven truck, bearing a Haryana registration number, hit the car.

While the car was completely damaged, Jyoti, who was then 14 and studying in grade nine, was grievously injured and became permanently disabled.

While awarding the compensation, the court noted that the mishap has rendered the girl incapable of even responding to the daily calls of nature without help, despite her leaving her "intellectually fit" to feel the pain of a "miserable life".