Pillion Rider's Alleged Intoxication No Ground For Contributory Negligence In Accident Cases Without Causal Link: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court has held that an allegation that the pillion rider on a two-wheeler was under the influence of alcohol cannot justify a finding of contributory negligence unless a clear causal link is established between the alleged intoxication and the occurrence of the accident.
Justice Prateek Jalan made the observation while dealing with an appeal filed by the insurance company challenging the compensation awarded by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) to the claimant, a pillion rider.
The insurer relied on the Medico-Legal Certificate (MLC), which recorded that the claimant was under the influence of alcohol at the time of admission to the hospital. On this basis, the Tribunal had reduced the compensation by 10% towards contributory negligence.
Rejecting this approach, the High Court noted that the claimant was not the driver of the motorcycle, but a pillion rider. It observed,
“the case of the Insurance Company is based upon the MLC report of the claimant…it does record that the claimant was under the influence of alcohol. However, the Tribunal has also noted that the blood alcohol content of the claimant was not tested…In any event, I am of the view that this is not relevant in the present case, as the claimant was not the driver of the motorcycle at all. Further, no causal link between the alleged contributory negligence and the accident has been established.”
Reliance was placed on Mohd. Siddique v. National Insurance Co. Ltd. (2020) where the Supreme Court held that even a violation of law by a victim does not automatically lead to contributory negligence unless it is shown that the accident could have been avoided itf there was no such violation.
Accordingly, the High Court set aside the Tribunal's deduction towards contributory negligence and proceeded to enhance the compensation.
Appearance: Mr. Pankaj Seth and Ms. Shruti Jain, Advocates for Appellant; Mr. Dharmender Arya, Ms. Vaishnavi Rao and Mr. Shashank Aggarwal, Advocates for R-1 alongwith R-1 in person.
Case title: The Oriental Insurance Co Ltd v. Haazari Singh Rawat & Ors
Case no.: MAC.APP. 337/2018