Driver’s acquittal in criminal case irrelevant to claims plea: MACT
Chandigarh, February 9
A criminal court’s judgment acquitting a driver is not relevant in a case before the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT).
Observing this, Jagdeep Sood, presiding officer of the Chandigarh Bench of the tribunal, directed an insurance company, a driver and an owner of a vehicle to pay Rs 20,13,000 as compensation to the husband and two children of a woman who died in an accident three years ago.
Saroj Kumari, a resident of Panchkula, had died in a road accident on April 15, 2018. In a petition filed through advocate Sunil Kumar Dixit under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, Sudesh Kumar, her husband, sought a compensation of Rs 30 lakh.
The petitioner stated that he was going to Baroti on his motorcycle on the day of the accident when a truck hit his motorcycle from the rear. Due to the impact of the collision, her wife, who was riding pillion, fell on the road and her head was crushed under a front wheel of the truck.
He alleged that the accident took place solely due to rash and negligent driving of the trucker. He said his wife was working as a tailor and earned Rs 20,000 per month. He said an FIR was also registered at the Kalka police station in this regard.
Opposing the claim, the insurance company stated that the court of Judicial Magistrate, Panchkula, had acquitted the accused driver of the charges under Section 279 and 304-A of the IPC. Its counsel stated that the acquittal proved that the truck was not being driven rashly or negligently.
The tribunal, however, observed that it was well-settled law that standard of proof in a criminal case was very strict as the life and liberty of a person were involved. On the other hand, in civil case, the yardstick to be used was preponderance of probabilities. “The standards of proof of a criminal case are different from the claims before the tribunal. It cannot be disputed that Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act is a piece of welfare legislation enacted to provide compensation to person and hyper-technic approach is not to be adopted while adjudicating such claims petition,” the tribunal observed.
In view of this, the tribunal directed all respondents to pay Rs 20,13,000 to the claimants, along with interest at the rate of 8 per cent per annum from the date of institution of the claim petition till realisation of the amount.
