Four years after a Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) bus which was rashly driven knocked a Chennai resident down and killed him, a city court has ordered the transport corporation to pay Rs 38.5 lakh as compensation to the kin of the deceased. The accident happened in August 2016 in Pulianthope.
As per reports, Deva Manikandan, a resident of Medavakkam, was riding his motorbike near the VOC Nagar junction on Dr Ambedkar College Road when he was hit by an MTC bus from behind. The bus was on its way to Periyar Nagar from Broadway. Deva suffered severe injuries and died on the spot. His wife, D Sumithra moved the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal and sought compensation of Rs 75 lakh for her husband’s death.
MTC contended that the victim overtook the bus from the left and lost control of his vehicle while negotiating a heap of blue metal. The transport corporation also stated that the bus had stopped at a bus stop and was just starting to move when the accident happened. MTC also reportedly argued that after losing his balance, the man hit the bumper of the bus and thus sustained injuries and therefore, MTC was not liable to pay compensation.
However, the Tribunal noted that while there is evidence to prove that the bus was driven rashly when the accident happened, the MTC had not submitted enough proof to substantiate their claims of Deva being negligent in his driving. The tribunal also took into consideration that Deva was 38 years old at the time of his death and was in the engineering business while calculating the compensation. Of the Rs 38.5 lakh awarded to the family, Sumithra is entitled to get Rs 18.5 lakh, and their three children will get Rs 5.33 lakh each. Deva’s parents will get Rs 2 lakh each. The court also ordered MTC to pay the compensation within a month’s time to the petitioner.