Injured victims or the kin of the deceased motor vehicle accident do not come forward to take compensation, lamented the principal district and sessions judge Palamu civil courts KK Srivastava here on Thursday.
The principal sessions judge was having his press briefing for May 9 national lok adalat here. This May 9 national lok Adalat is insurance centric inclusive of MCAT ( motor vehicle accident claim tribunal.
Srivastava said ‘This place Palamu is unique. Here victims do not claim compensation. It gives a heavy leeway to the insurance companies here’. The principal sessions judge urged the media persons to help create more awareness among the rural folks regarding compensation.
Referring to compensation mode in other foreign countries Srivastava said in many European countries if a man falls in a ditch by the side of road or falls on floor of any public place then the victim there asks for compensation but here it is alien here. The principal sessions judge said here the law of tort is taught but its application is not here.
The secretary of the Palamu district legal services authority Uttam Anand said the MCAT is applicable to human beings who get hit or come under the wheels on road.
Asked if the role of the police is not any indicator in victims not coming forward for compensation Srivastava said ‘ This is what I am hammering’. He wished there should evolve a mechanism where the victims get the compensation on the spot or their kins in the event of death on road.
Sources said in majority of cases victims and the accused causing road accidents aver reporting matter to the police as reporting to police involves a lot of complications and problems believe many.
The principal sessions judge said ‘ It is lagan time and see how many turn up to take advantage of this insurance centric national lok adalat’. To be on the safe side three benches have been set up he said. Except for bench number 3 which is headed by a railway judicial magistrate the other two benches are headed by senior judges namely G K Dubey and JP Singh.