Supreme Court of India: Negligence on the part of a driver of the vehicle involved in the accident cannot be vicariously attached to the passengers

20 Sep, 2024

The Apex Court observed, "the contributory negligence on the part of a driver of the vehicle involved in the accident cannot be vicariously attached to the passengers so as to reduce the compensation awarded to the passengers or their legal heirs as the case may be." As regards the present case, the Court said that no fault could be attributed to the driver of the car while colliding with the offending truck which was parked in the middle of the road without any parking lights being switched on and without any markers or indicators being placed around the stationary vehicle to warn the incoming vehicular traffic. In the present case, the appellant and four other persons (including her husband) were traveling in a four-wheeler that collided with an offending truck that was abandonly lying on the road without any whereabouts. Resultantly, except the appellant, other passengers died on the spot leading to the filing of a claim petitions under the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 by the appellant and legal heirs of other deceased passengers.