Death of motorist from falling tree is 'vehicle accident': Karnataka HC
Bengaluru, Oct 10: The Karnataka High Court has held that the death of a motorist from a falling tree branch is still an accident "arising out of the use of motor vehicle", and therefore the insurance company is liable to pay compensation.
The judgement by Justice H P Sandesh came in an appeal filed by the United India Insurance Company, which had approached the HC against the order of a lower court that had awarded compensation of Rs 3.62 lakh to the family members of a motor vehicle accident victim.
The accident happened on July 2, 2006, and the lower court judgement was delivered in February 2011. The appeal was filed in the HC later that year and the judgement came recently.
Shamrao Patil, 44, died in an accident while he was riding a motorcycle on Salpewadi-Gargoti road in Kolhapur district of Maharashtra. A branch of a eucalyptus tree fell on his head which resulted in his death.
Challenging the award of compensation, the company claimed in the HC that the accident is because of a branch of eucalyptus tree falling on him and it was not an accident "arising out of the use of motor vehicle".
Sanjay S Katageri, advocate for the victim's family, pointed out the 2003 case of Sulochana vs KSRTC in which a banyan tree had fallen on a bus on the road resulting in the death of three people.
The court had then ruled that the deaths were "due to accident arising out of the use of motor vehicle", and therefore it came under Section 163A, Schedule II of the Motor Vehicles Act.
Other judgements where the courts have held that a person who is not the owner of the vehicle becomes a 'third-party', were also referred.
The HC, in its judgement, cited the case of Shivaji Dayanu Patil vs Vatschala Uttam More where a petrol tanker had overturned after a collision and the public had gathered to collect petrol. An explosion resulted in these people getting injured. The Supreme Court had held that this was still a vehicle accident and the insurance company had to pay them compensation.
In another case of Rita Devi vs New India Assurance, an auto-rickshaw driver, who was murdered by the passengers who wanted to steal his vehicle, was also held to be an accident victim arising out of use of motor vehicle for the sake of awarding compensation.
In the present case, the HC also said that though the bike was owned by the daughter of the victim, he had stepped into the shoes of the owner by borrowing it to commute. It also held that negligence cannot be held as a ground for not awarding compensation. It held that the insurance company was thus liable to pay compensation.
However, the HC also noted that since personal accident cover was charged for 'owner-cum-driver' it was liable only to pay the personal accident (PA) cover of Rs 1 lakh.
In the insurance, there was a specific Rs 50 collected as personal accident cover. This entitled payment of compensation of Rs 1 lakh and not the compensation of Rs 3.62 lakh which the lower court had ordered, the HC said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Karnataka Muslim Convention to be held in Bengaluru on May 16
Muslim organisations to release report on Congress govt’s three-year performance
Bengaluru: Major Muslim organisations and federations in Karnataka have decided to organise a large public convention titled ‘Karnataka Muslim Convention’ at Town Hall in Bengaluru on May 16. During the convention, a comprehensive report reviewing the three-year performance of the Congress government under the theme “What did the Congress government promise? What did it do? What next?” will be released.
According to a statement issued on Friday, no politicians will be invited to the convention. The report will be submitted to the government and all MLAs after the event.
The convention is being held at a time when the Congress government is nearing the completion of three years in office on May 20. Muslim organisations have expressed dissatisfaction, alleging that despite extending strong support to the Congress in bringing it to power, the community is being neglected.
The Convention is being organised at time when there are concerns over inadequate political representation for Muslims, alleged neglect of community demands, and the suspension of senior Muslim leaders who had worked for the party for decades.
The organisers said the convention aims to raise questions on what the Congress government has delivered so far and what further steps are expected from the government.
The decision to hold the convention was taken during a meeting held on May 6 at A J International Hotel in Shivajinagar, Bengaluru. Representatives of major Muslim organisations, associations, ulema bodies, federations, and members of the ad hoc committee of Karnataka Rajya Muslim Okkoota attended the meeting.
More than 75 representatives and delegates, including senior ulemas, jamaat leaders, lawyers, retired officials, journalists and members of the KRMO ad hoc committee, participated in the discussions.
Members of the KRMO ad hoc committee’s report preparation team and experts from different sectors presented a detailed report on the Congress government’s three-year performance. The report examined promises made to Muslims on ten major issues, the extent to which they were fulfilled, pending promises, alleged discrimination in representation, and the demands now being placed before the government.
The report covered issues such as the hijab ban, reservation cancellation, hate speech and hate crimes, budget allocation, political representation, waqf matters, the anti-cow slaughter law, anti-conversion law, scholarships and educational grants.
Participants offered suggestions and recommendations on various points, and necessary corrections to the report were accepted after detailed discussions.
The meeting also reportedly expressed strong dissatisfaction over the manner in which the Congress government has treated the Muslim community. Participants are said to have opined that if the government and the Congress party continue in the same manner, the community should keep its political options open.
It was later decided that the report would be officially released at the large public convention on May 16 under the title “Karnataka Muslim Convention – What did the Congress government promise? What did it do? What next?”
The organisers appealed to people from all districts of the state to participate in large numbers and send a strong message to the government and the Congress party through the convention.
They also decided that all organisations, jamaats and associations should work towards ensuring participation from every district in Karnataka.
The statement reiterated that no politicians would be invited to the May 16 convention and that the report on the Congress government’s three-year performance would be submitted to the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, ministers and MLAs after the event.
