Karnataka HC orders insurance company to pay Rs 16.4L for pedestrian’s death

Bengaluru: The High Court of Karnataka has directed an insurance company to pay Rs 16.4 lakh in compensation to the parents of a pedestrian who died in an accident, and recover the amount from two riders and a motorcycle owner.

The court allowed the company to recover 90 per cent of the compensation from the rider and owner of one motorcycle, and the remaining 10 per cent from the rider of another motorcycle involved in the accident.

On November 29, 2017, around 9.30 am, Siddaraya, a resident of Vijayapura, was walking on the extreme end of the road when a motorcyclist named Subhash, riding in a rash and negligent manner, collided with another motorcyclist, Pandurang. Both vehicles then struck Siddaraya, causing severe injuries that led to his death.

Siddaraya’s parents moved the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, arguing that their son was young and earning Rs 15,000 per month. The tribunal determined that the negligence of both motorcyclists had equally contributed to the accident and set the compensation at Rs 11.37 lakh. It directed the insurance company to pay the amount and recover 50% of the compensation from the two motorcyclists.

Seeking higher compensation, the claimants approached the High Court, contending that the tribunal had not properly considered their son’s notional income. Siddaraya was 16 years and four months old at the time of the accident.

Justice CM Joshi noted that Pandurang, one of the motorcyclists, was not charge-sheeted by the police. However, the court found that Subhash and the owner of the motorcycle he was riding, Nizar, bore greater responsibility for the accident.

The court said Nizar had given his uninsured motorcycle to Subhash, who did not have a valid driving licence. It held them 90% liable, while stating that Pandurang could have exercised more caution on the road.

"Evidently, as per the spot mahazar, an accident between the two motorcycles had taken place at the centre of the road. In that view, the apportionment of negligence by the tribunal is unsustainable in law and the same is modified as 90 per cent on the part of respondents 3 (Subhash) and 4 (Nizar), and 10 per cent on behalf of respondents 1 and 2 (company and Pandurang),” the court said.