Karnataka HC imposes Rs 25,000 cost on KKRTC over contradictory stand in accident case

Bengaluru: The high court of Karnataka has imposed a cost of Rs 25,000 upon the Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (KKRTC) for suppression of material facts and adoption of mutually destructive stands in an accident case.

A division bench comprising Justices Suraj Govindaraj and Chillakur Sumalatha found that the corporation, on one hand fixed responsibility on its own employees and on the other moved the court attributing negligence to the deceased.

The case pertains to the death of Vinod Kumar, a government employee at the Revenue Department. On June 20, 2023, Vinod had boarded the KKRTC bus and was standing at the rear door.

As the bus took a sharp left turn near Kanni Market in Kalaburagi, Vinod lost balance and fell on the road. The bus driver did not stop and sped away. Vinod Kumar was treated at a hospital in Kalaburagi for three days before succumbing to injuries.

On March 14, 2025, the accident tribunal at Kalaburagi awarded Rs 1.1 crore compensation to the family members of Vinod with 6% interest. The KKRTC challenged the verdict contending that Vinod Kumar Mane was at fault as he was standing at the doorway of the bus.

When the division bench sought to know as to whether any disciplinary proceedings had been initiated by the KKRTC, it was submitted that the driver, who was working on contract basis, had been removed from service and the conductor had been imposed a punishment of withholding of one annual increment permanently.

The division bench noted that after a finding of culpability against its employees, the corporation cannot be permitted to contend that the deceased himself was negligent.

“Such a stand is inherently contradictory and legally impermissible. It is a settled principle that a party cannot be permitted to approbate and reprobate. A party cannot “blow hot and cold” by taking inconsistent stands to suit its convenience, such inconsistent pleas are impermissible in law,” the bench said.

The bench further said the cost imposed, payable to the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority, shall be recovered from the officers responsible for authorising and pursuing the appeal, after conducting an appropriate internal inquiry.  

Directions to KKRTC:

The bench directed the Managing Director of KKRTC to Issue appropriate administrative instructions/circulars mandating full disclosure of all material facts, including disciplinary proceedings arising out of the same incident, in all judicial proceedings.

The bench asked KKRTC to put in place a litigation scrutiny mechanism to ensure consistency in pleadings and positions taken before courts and tribunals and fix accountability in cases where inconsistent or misleading stands are taken before judicial and quasi-judicial forums.