The Madras high court has enhanced the compensation amount of Rs 83.47 lakh awarded by a trial court, to over Rs 1 crore to the family members of a man who died in a motor accident in Salem in 2016.
A division bench comprising Justices Nisha Banu and D Bharatha Chakravarthy in a recent order enhanced the compensation while dismissing an appeal filed by the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation Limited and partly allowing a petition filed by the wife, son and parents of the deceased.
The case of the claimants was that Kumar, aged about 33 years and working as an Assistant Manager in a private company in Hosur, was crushed to death while waiting at the Salem New Bus Stand when a STC bus driven rashly and negligently in the reverse direction by the driver hit him.
He was caught between two vehicles, including the STC bus in contention and crushed to death.
Hence, the family members of the deceased filed a petition, claiming Rs 2 crore as compensation and a trial court awarded Rs 83.47 lakh. Aggrieved by the same, the TNSTC filed the present appeal.
Holding that the accident happened only because of negligence on the part of the driver and thus, the appellant corporation was liable to pay the compensation, the bench, by applying a multiplier method, enhanced the compensation to Rs 1.04 crore.
-With PTI Input
