Court asks MTC to pay 1.54 cr to bus mishap victim's kin

Rapping the Metropolitan Transport Corporation for giving a clean chit to a driver in a fatal accident, a city court has ordered it to pay a compenstion of Rs 1.54 crore to the family of a 45-year old woman doctor who died after being hit by one of its buses here in 2010.
Judge S D Parimala, of the Court of Small causes-III here, directed the MTC to pay a compensation of Rs 1.54 crore to the doctor's family for losses of estate, love and affection along with medical and funeral expenses and pain and suffering.
Coming down on the MTC for taking a similar stand in all cases of fatal accidents and claiming that the particular bus was not involved in the mishap, the judge said it occurred because of the negligence of the driver.

"Had the driver of the bus driven it with caution, the accident would have been averted," she said.
Victim Dr Neetu Hariharan, an ENT specialist and head of the department of ENT at private Chettinad Hospital and Research Institute, was standing at the bus terminus in Saidapet when an MTC bus allegedly driven in a rash and negligent manner hit her.
She fell down on the road unconscious and was bleeding from nose and throat. She succumbed to her injuries four months later, her husband Hariharan said in his petition.

He submitted a copy of the chargesheet which held the MTC driver responsible for rash and negligent driving.

Managing Director of the MTC, however, denied the claim and said that after the accident, the motor vehicle inspector had examined the bus and found it was not damaged.
Further, as the victim had died four months after the accident, the onus was on the family to prove she died because of injuries.
He also said as the bus had completed all its trips that day, it could not have been involved in the accident. Also, the police had registered a case without ascertaining facts, he contended.
Driver Karthikeyan said when the bus stopped near Saidapet, the deceased got down from a car and hurriedly crossed the road to board another bus. She lost balance near the median wall of the terminus and sustained injuries.

He also said he had stopped the bus only after the conductor whistled to stop it. However, Sivalingam, conductor, said after hearing the sound of the crash, he blew the whistle and the driver stopped the bus.
The judge said the statements of the driver and conductor were riddled with contradictions.