Sleeping on pavement does not contribute to negligence: Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court has enhanced the compensation awarded to the victims and the kin of the deceased in a road accident, stating that sleeping on pavements cannot be held to be an act contributing to the negligence of the offending truck driver.

Justice Anish Dayal set aside the decision of the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal (MACT), which reduced the compensation payable to the families of two deceased persons and two surviving victims by half, and said the finding attributing 50 per cent “contributory negligence” to the claimants was unsustainable.

The judge said a pedestrian using a pavement for walking, standing, or resting owing to compelling circumstances cannot be expected to anticipate that a motor vehicle would be driven onto the footpath and a driver ought to be more cautious while driving in an area meant for pedestrians.

“It is a reality in this country that many persons are homeless, work through the night, or are part of labour deployed at various construction sites and do not have a place to sleep. For such persons, these pavements also become a relatively safer place to rest, considering that they do not expect vehicles to be driven onto the pavements and mow them down. Even if they had taken a calculated risk sleeping on the pavement, it certainly cannot be translated into contributory negligence,” said the court in the judgement passed on July 8.

“Even if it is not being used for the purpose it is intended for, still it certainly cannot be used for driving, which is completely prohibited under the law,” it held.

The accident, in the instant case, took place on the pavement under the Madipur metro station in October 2015 at around 4.30 am when the truck, which was being driven at a high speed, hit four victims sleeping on the pavement there.

The court restored the 50 per cent amount deducted by the tribunal on account of contributory negligence and asked the insurance company to pay the amount to the respective beneficiaries within six weeks.

The court approved a compensation amount of around Rs 10 lakh each for the kin of the two deceased; the compensation for the two injured was set at Rs 1,20,005 and Rs 18,10,569 each.

The court passed the verdict on appeals by the surviving victims and the families of the deceased challenging the tribunal’s decision.