The Delhi High Court has increased compensation for victims and the families of two people killed in a 2015 road accident, ruling that sleeping on a pavement cannot automatically be treated as contributory negligence by the truck driver who struck them. Justice Anish Dayal set aside a Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal (MACT) finding that had halved awards to the two deceased persons’ families and to two surviving victims by attributing 50% blame to the claimants; the High Court called that finding unsustainable.
The court observed that pedestrians who walk, stand or rest on pavements because of compelling circumstances cannot be expected to foresee a motor vehicle being driven onto a footpath. It noted the reality that many people are homeless, work at night, or are site labourers without a place to sleep, and that pavements may serve as a relatively safer place to rest. The judgment, delivered on July 8, said, “it certainly cannot be translated into contributory negligence.”
The crash occurred under the Madipur metro station in October 2015 at about 4:30 am, when a speeding truck drove onto the pavement and hit four people sleeping there. The High Court restored the 50% amount the tribunal had deducted and directed the insurer to pay the full compensation to the beneficiaries within six weeks.
The court approved roughly Rs 10 lakh each for the next of kin of the two deceased. The two injured appellants were awarded Rs 1,20,005 and Rs 18,10,569 respectively. The verdict came on appeals filed by the surviving victims and the families of the deceased challenging the MACT order.
Original Source: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/doesnt-add-to-offending-drivers-negligence-court-on-sleeping-on-pavement-11825530#publisher=newsstand
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Publish Date: 2026-07-27 00:25:00
