sorce: tribuneindia.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A man who suffered permanent disability in an accident while driving the car of the then leader and Punjab Cabinet minister Kanwaljit Singh in 2009 was on Monday awarded Rs 49.9 lakh compensation by the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Singh, who was Punjab Cooperation Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal\u2019s general secretary, had died on March 29, 2009, at a hospital in Chandigarh following the accident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His driver Parminder Singh, who suffered 100 per cent disability in the mishap, had moved the apex court for enhanced compensation.
\nA Bench comprising Indu Malhotra and MR Shah concurred with the legal and factual findings of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on the award of compensation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The high court had awarded Rs 32.40 lakh and the apex court raised it to Rs 49.9 lakh saying that the facts that the driver had repeated hospitalisation and the need of future medical expenses and attendant charges were not taken note of by high court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe appellant (driver) was produced before us. He was in an extremely pitiable state. On account of the removal of the frontal bone of the skull, half of his head has caved in. Furthermore, a deep circular incision was made in his throat, and his body was in an unstable condition, undergoing tremors. The appellant is further suffering from hemiplegia, due to which the left side of his body is not functioning properly,\u201d the judgment said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGiven the debilitated state of the appellant, no amount of money can compensate him. He has been in this condition since the age of 22 years when the accident took place, and will remain like this throughout his life\u2026,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The driver has also been deprived of having a \u201cnormal married life with a family\u201d and would require medical assistance from time to time and being completely dependant, he would require the help of an attendant throughout his life, it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He was driving the Hyundai Elantra car of the minister on March 29, 2009 when it was rammed by a truck coming from opposite direction near Ludhiana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The accident happened also due to \u201ccontributory negligence\u201d of another truck which was wrongly parked on the road. The minister died at the hospital on the same day and the driver suffered grievous injuries and had undergone five corrective surgeries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court took note of the fact that both the truck drivers had invalid driving licenses and hence New India Assurance Co Ltd, the insurer of the offending trucks, had no liability to pay the compensation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It referred to a judgment and said that if the driver of the offending vehicle does not possess a valid driving license, the principle of \u201cpay and recover\u201d can be ordered to direct the insurance company to the pay the victim and then recover the amount from the owner and the drivers of the offending vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe deem it just and fair to direct the respondent \u2013Insurance Company to pay the enhanced amount of compensation\u2026to the appellant (driver) within a period of 12 weeks from the date of this judgment\u2026 Insurance Company is entitled to recover the amount from the owners and drivers of the two offending trucks,\u201d it held. \u2014 PTI<\/p>\n