Perne LPG tanker tragedy: High Court rejects plea to deduct ex-gratia from compensation
Bengaluru: The High Court of Karnataka has dismissed an appeal filed by National Insurance Company seeking deduction of government-issued ex-gratia payments from the compensation awarded to the families of 13 victims who died in the 2013 LPG tanker explosion at Perne in Dakshina Kannada district.
A single-judge bench of Justice P. Sree Sudha held that ex-gratia amounts released by the government constitute a form of social security support intended to mitigate the loss of income suffered by the affected families. The court clarified that such payments cannot be linked to, or adjusted against, statutory compensation awarded under motor accident claim proceedings.
The court stated that the ex-gratia amount paid by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) could not be deducted from the compensation fixed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT). It further noted that the Supreme Court has already ruled that ex-gratia disbursements cannot be subtracted while calculating compensation.
According to the High Court, the explosion was triggered by negligence on the part of the tanker driver, and therefore the victims were entitled to claim compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act. The court directed the insurance company to deposit the entire compensation amount along with applicable interest.
Background of the incident
On 9 April 2013, an LPG tanker belonging to HPCL overturned near Perne village on the Mangaluru–Bantwal highway. The gas leak ignited a massive fire, killing 13 people and injuring several others. Residential buildings, commercial establishments, and multiple vehicles along the road were severely damaged.
Following the incident, HPCL and the state government distributed various relief amounts to the bereaved families and the injured. In December 2016, the MACT in Mangaluru allowed the compensation claims filed by affected families.
National Insurance Company later challenged the tribunal’s orders in eight separate appeals, arguing that the incident was essentially a fire accident and not a motor vehicle accident, and that the ex-gratia amounts already paid by HPCL and the government should be deducted from the compensation. The High Court has now rejected these arguments in its ruling.
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SWR announces special trains for passengers stranded by large-scale IndiGo cancellations
Bengaluru (PTI): The South Western Railway on Saturday announced a series of special trains, in coordination with Central, South Eastern and Southern Railways, to clear stranded passengers following large-scale IndiGo flight cancellations across the country.
The special services will operate between December 6 and 10 on high-demand routes, including Bengaluru–Chennai, Bengaluru–Pune, Yesvantpur–Hazrat Nizamuddin, Shalimar–Yelahanka and Ernakulam–Yelahanka, officials said.
According to an official statement, SWR will run Train No. 06255/06256 between Chennai Egmore and KSR Bengaluru, 06257/06258 between Bengaluru and MGR Chennai Central, 06259/06260 between Yesvantpur and Hazrat Nizamuddin, and 06263/06264 between Bengaluru and Pune.
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Central Railway will operate Train No. 01413/01414 between Pune and Bengaluru, while South Eastern Railway will run Train No. 08073/08074 between Shalimar and Yelahanka. Southern Railway will operate Train No. 06147/06148 between Ernakulam and Yelahanka, the statement said.
Railways has advised passengers to check updated timings on its official channels and arrive early at stations.
For at least five days in a row, IndiGo flight operations have been significantly disrupted, with a large number of cancellations and delays causing hardships to thousands of passengers. In many cases, baggage has been misplaced.
