Madras High Court poses questions to Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation over accidents

Source: newindianexpress.com

CHENNAI: Division bench of the Madras High Court has enhanced the compensation of Rs 45.29 lakh awarded by a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal to a whopping Rs 1.06 crore payable to the wife of a private company official, who died in a road accident, eight years ago.

A bench of Justices N Kirubakaran and Krishnan Ramasamy increased the compensation while passing final orders on the civil miscellaneous appeal from Vani, wife of R Shanmugam (41), who worked as a senior manager in Voltas Limited for a monthly salary of about Rs 70,000.  He was riding a two-wheeler on Rajaji Salai, near Naval Officers Mess and was hit from behind by an MTC bus, which was allegedly driven rashly and negligently, on February 23, 2011.

The bench was also dismissing the appeal from MTC challenging the award of the tribunal alleging that it was on the higher side and disproportionate. The bench held that for the said age of 41 years of the deceased, the loss of income is to be fixed at Rs 1.04 crore after applying the multiplier system. It more or less agreed with the calculations arrived at by the Tribunal and awarded the enhanced sum of Rs 1.06 crore. The bench, however, kept the matter pending for certain general issues to be decided.

They included: How many accidents have occurred involving State-owned transport corporation buses in the past 10 years? How many lives were lost in those accidents and how many were injured? How many claim petitions have been filed in respect of those accidents and how much has been awarded each year against the STCs, whether departmental proceedings have been initiated against those drivers involved in the accidents and how many persons have been convicted? Is there a separate wing called “Accident Investigation Wing” in the corporations? If so, how many accidents have been investigated in the past 10 years and whether the investigation reports of the said wing are employed or marked in MACT O.P. proceedings or criminal proceedings, filed against the drivers of transport corporations.

To answer these queries, the bench also suo-motu impleaded the Transport secretary, DGP and  CMDs of transport corporations as parties.