Bengaluru: The State High Court has said that the Motor Vehicle Accident Compensation Tribunal has no power to change the m court verdict in the vehicle accident cases. A judgment of the High Court delivered recently says that after the court has concluded that the driver is guilty after verifying many documents and evidences, the judicial board shall not replace it by presenting another document.
The court delivered a verdict in an accident case m that took place in 2015 at Jagalur in Davangere District. Shukru Saab and his granddaughter were waiting for a bus at the bus stand when a car hit them, killing Shukru Saab and injuring her granddaughter. Ataullah Khan was the car driver. The trial court found Ataullah Khan guilty of driving the car due to negligence and carelessness. In the meantime, the deceased’s wife filed an application with the Motor Accident Compensation Judicial Board seeking compensation in the case. During its hearing, the tribunal changed the pace of the case itself.
Lawyers for the insurance company said that the medical records of the case showed that the car driver’s name was Akhtar instead of Ataullah Khan. Akhtar did not have a driving license. Due to this, the police implicated Ataullah in the case and filed a charge sheet. Therefore, it was said that compensation cannot be given.
The court upheld this argument and placed the liability of compensation payment on the car owner Prabhakar instead of the insurance company. The victim was ordered to pay Rs. 4,43,000 rupees with an interest rate of 6% per annum. An appeal was filed to the High Court questioning this. During the hearing that took place in the High Court, a single-judge bench headed by Justice N. S. Sanjay Gowda made it clear that a tribunal cannot change a judgment once passed in trial court and set aside the order that compensation should be paid by the owner of the vehicle.
The court ordered the insurance company to pay compensation to the victims and increased the compensation amount of Rs. 4,43,000 fixed by the judicial council to Rs. 9,48,200. The amount has been directed to be paid at an interest rate of 6% per annum.