Over 15 years after they met with a freak accident followed by a bitter legal battle, the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court has directed United India Insurance Company Limited (UIICL) to pay compensation to a family residing in Hanuman Nagar.
While quashing city-based Motor Vehicles Claim Tribunal’s (MACT) verdict, the HC asked the insurance firm to deposit the entire amount with its registry which would be then handed over to the injured victims comprising a couple and their son.
On May 17, 2004, Dr Ajay Hardas, wife Neeta and son Ayur were travelling in a bus owned by North-West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) from Belgaum to Saundatti. The vehicle collided with another bus resulting in death of four passengers and grievous injuries to the rest, including the Hardas family.
The judgment was reversed by the Karnataka high court in an appeal by holding that the other bus owned by Dharwad-based Vijayanand Road Lines (VRL) Limited was being driven rashly which led to the collision and not the NWKRTC bus carrying the claimants. The Karnataka HC fastened the liability of compensation on VRL and ULLCL. The Hardas family had also filed individual appeals in MACT here for compensation for their injuries.
On May 5, 2012, it also ruled on the lines of its Karnataka counterpart by fixing the responsibility to pay compensation on both bus agencies in equal ratio. This verdict was challenged by the Belgaum-based NWKRTC divisional controller in HC’s Nagpur bench.
“It’s clear from the Karnataka HC’s verdict, material documents and evidence adduced by the claimants in all these appeals that the bus owned by VRL and insured by UIICL was driven in a rash and negligent manner and hit to petitioner’s vehicle,” justice Murlidhar Giratkar held.
