Tribunal awards Rs 1.98 cr compensation to family of man killed by car driven by juvenile

New Delhi, Jul 16 (PTI) A motor accidents claim tribunal here has directed an insurance company to pay over Rs 1.98 crore to the family of a 32-year-old man who died in 2016 after he was hit by a speeding Mercedes that was being driven by a juvenile.

The tribunal also castigated the father of the juvenile, saying that instead of preventing his minor son from driving, he chose to ignore it, which implies "tacit consent" on his part.

Presiding officer Pankaj Sharma was hearing the compensation claim filed by the parents of the victim, Sidharth Sharma (32), who was hit by the car while crossing the road in the Civil Lines area on April 4, 2016.

According to the detailed accident report (DAR), the juvenile, who was accompanied by his six friends, was driving the car negligently at a very high speed.

When hit by the car, Sharma was thrown around 20 feet in the air and suffered fatal injuries, it said.

An FIR in the matter was registered at Civil Lines police station.

Noting the evidence before it, the tribunal said that police had invoked Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) in the case after reviewing the CCTV footage, which showed "dangerous driving" by the juvenile.

It said that the accident had occurred because of "negligence and rashness" of the juvenile driver.

"Respondent 3 (juvenile) was responsible for the death due to his neglect and default in driving the offending vehicle, therefore the petitioners have become entitled to be compensated for the death of deceased in the above accident...," the tribunal said in its order dated July 6.

It directed the car's insurer, HDFC Ergo General Insurance Co. Ltd., to award Rs 1.21 crore as compensation to the victim's family along with Rs 77.61 lakh as interest. The total compensation was Rs 1,98,89,820.

The tribunal also dismissed a plea by the juvenile's father seeking exoneration of liability and granted the insurance company recovery rights.

The juvenile's father "wilfully cultivated illegal behaviour of his minor son" by ignoring his previous traffic violations and also failed to realise that allowing his minor son to drive could be disastrous for other road users, the tribunal said.

"Instead of preventing his minor son from driving a Mercedes car, he chose to ignore the same, which implies a tacit consent on his part.

"The very fact that at the time of the accident he (the father) was at home, same was all the more reason to stop his son from taking the car for a joyride," it said. PTI MNR DIV DIV