The family of the deceased had been awarded a compensation of Rs. 5 lakh by DSLSA, but they had not been given any compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act which they claimed before the high court they were entitled to. The Delhi High Court recently directed the Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DSLSA) to pay Rs. 5 lakh to the family of an auto-rickshaw driver who was killed in an accident. The direction came after his family alleged they had been deprived of compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act as those responsible for the driver’s death had not been caught.
A single judge bench of Justice Prathiba Singh while disposing of the matter on January 10 asked DSLSA to bear in mind “whether any amount has been received from the Insurance Company or not” while awarding compensation to victims or dependants in cases pertaining to death or a case grievous injuries. The high court directed DSLSA “to release a further sum of Rs.5,00,000/- to the Petitioner No.1 – widow of the deceased, which she would use in the manner as she deems appropriate, for the welfare of the children and for the family”. The family of the deceased had been awarded a compensation of Rs. 5 lakh by DSLSA, but they had not been given any compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act which they claimed before the high court they were entitled to. The auto-rickshaw driver passed away on August 9, 2019, after an accident near ITO after an unidentified vehicle hit him. An FIR was lodged but the persons or the vehicle which caused the accident could not be identified. The Motor Vehicles Claims Tribunal, Tis Hazari Court, in its September 22, 2020, order granted liberty to the family to approach the secretary, DSLSA, or the concerned sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) for compensation in accordance with law. Justice Singh noted the driver was survived by his wife and three children—two daughters and a son who had all attained the age of majority. She noted that the family approached DSLSA for compensation under the Delhi Victims Compensations Scheme, 2018. DLSLA on December 9, 2020, after considering the matter awarded Rs. 5 lakh as compensation which was challenged by the family in the high court. The high court said the deceased, who was 46 years old when he passed away, had a reasonable monthly income. The court observed it can be “reasonably stated that the deceased would have been able to continue to earn income from plying of the auto-rickshaw at least for the next 15 years”. “Even if the average income of the deceased is taken to be Rs.25,000/- per month, the loss of income to his family, due to the death of the deceased, would be substantial in nature. Further, it is usually seen in such accident matters that the family of the deceased not only receives compensation, if found eligible, under the Victim Compensation Scheme, 2018, but the MACT Court after conducting the due inquiry, and on the basis of the investigation undertaken by the police, awards compensation to the family of the deceased under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988,” the court observed. Justice Singh said the family had been “completely deprived of any compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, due to the non-tracing of the culprits who caused the accident”. The court took note of the medical condition of one of the daughters of the deceased who was undergoing treatment at the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS), and was unable to get any employment due to the mental trauma on account of her father’s death. The other daughter was undertaking a course in banking and the son was unemployed. Considering the daughter’s medical condition and the fact that the family was surviving on the income obtained from the auto-rickshaw which had been rented out to a third party, the court took the view that the compensation awarded to the family “ought to be enhanced to the maximum amount of Rs.10,00,000/-“.
