New Delhi, Oct 8 (PTI) A Delhi Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) has awarded around 67.4 lakh as compensation to the family of a 41-year-old man who died after being run over by a bus while getting off it.
The tribunal rejected the argument of the insurer, Oriental Insurance Company Ltd, that the deceased person was partly to blame, and directed it to deposit the amount.
Presiding Officer Shirish Aggarwal, in an order dated September 23, said that the victim, Nain Singh Bist, died because of the bus driver’s rash and negligent driving.
“It stands proved on a preponderance of probability that the deceased suffered fatal injuries in the accident that took place due to rash and negligent driving of the offending vehicle,” the tribunal said.
According to the claim petition, Bist was getting off the bus around 2 am on May 14, 2025, on NH-48 near Mahipalpur in south Delhi when the driver suddenly sped up.
He fell and sustained fatal injuries after the left rear wheel of the bus ran over him. An FIR was later registered at Vasant Kunj South police station.
Oriental Insurance argued that Bist was negligent for getting off a moving bus at a place that was not a designated stop. It also claimed the driver had no valid licence and the bus had no valid permit.
Rejecting the arguments, the tribunal said that a passenger cannot be blamed if the driver agrees to stop at a place that is not a bus stop, even at the passenger’s request, so he can get off closer to home.
“It is obvious that the accident would not have taken place if the bus would have completely stopped and had not increased its speed after slowing it down for the purpose of deboarding by the deceased,” the tribunal said.
“The testimony of a witness that ‘bus rukne ki last stage pe thi par ruki nahi thi’ (the bus was at the last stage of stopping but did not stop completely) is also significant since it indicates that the deceased was going to deboard after the bus stopped, but fell down when the bus driver increased the speed of the bus,” it added.
It said that no contributory negligence can be attributed to the deceased since he could not have foreseen any harm by deboarding at a place which is not a designated bus stop.
The tribunal said that the driver’s licence and the bus’ fitness certificate were on record and valid on the date of the accident.
Although the driver, the bus owner and the insurer were held jointly and severally liable, the tribunal directed the insurer to deposit the amount.
The compensation includes interest and an amount for loss of dependency, loss of consortium, loss of estate and funeral expenses.
Bist is survived by his wife, Haru Devi Bist, three daughters and a son. The tribunal awarded 60 per cent of the amount to the wife and 10 per cent to each child. PTI MNR. MNR KSS
KSS
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