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Karnataka High Court upholds Rs 1.10 crore compensation for family of man who died after falling from bus
The Karnataka High Court slammed the KKRTC for trying to blame the victim, even though it had already fired its staff for the same accident.
Karnataka High Court slammed the transport body for misleading the court (File photo).
The Karnataka High Court recently directed the Kalyan Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (KKRTC) to pay over Rs 1.10 crore in compensation to the family of a Revenue Department employee who died after falling from a moving bus.
A division bench of Justice Suraj Govindaraj and Justice Dr Chillakur Sumalatha not only upheld the compensation but also slapped a Rs 25,000 fine on the KKRTC. The court rebuked the corporation for trying to blame the victim for negligence while simultaneously firing its own driver and conductor for the same accident.
On June 20, 2023, Vinod Kumar, a government employee, was commuting to work in Sedam. Due to the heavy crowd, he was standing near the rear door. According to the FIR, the driver operated the bus at high speed and in a rash manner, causing Kumar to fall onto the road. He sustained grievous head injuries and later succumbed.
The KKRTC argued that Kumar was negligent by standing in the doorway despite “empty seats” being available. However, the High Court discovered that the corporation had already conducted internal disciplinary proceedings against the driver and conductor, found them guilty, and removed them from service.
“The Corporation… cannot now be permitted to contend that the deceased himself was negligent,” the bench observed. “Such a stand is inherently contradictory and legally impermissible.”
The court slammed the corporation for “suppressing material facts” by failing to inform the Tribunal or the High Court of these internal disciplinary actions.
“The present case is a clear instance of the appellant Corporation attempting to mislead the Court… This Court cannot permit its process to be abused in such a manner,” the bench noted.
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The court took the unusual step of allowing the KKRTC to recover the Rs 25,000 fine from the specific officers who authorised the “frivolous” litigation, following an internal inquiry.
The bench issued a set of directives to the managing director of the KKRTC. Officials must now disclose all material facts, including internal disciplinary actions related to an accident, in all future judicial proceedings. The corporation must establish a mechanism to ensure consistency in legal pleadings and prevent “mutually destructive” stands in court.
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