HC upholds over Rs 60L relief for family which lost 4 in accident

Madurai: The Madras high court has upheld the compensation awarded to a family in a case where four people were killed when a truck collided with their car in 2012.

According to the prosecution, Rajinikanth along with his parents Rajagopal, Saroja, his wife Vinitha, daughter Rethanya and son Rohith Vinai, was travelling in his car on the Tuticorin - Palayamkottai Road on June 29, 2012. When they neared Vaikaikulam village, a container truck which came in the opposite direction collided with the car. Rajinikanth, Rajagopal, Saroja and Rethanya died, while Vinitha sustained severe injuries.

Vinitha and her family members filed four petitions before the Tuticorin motor accidents claims tribunal seeking compensation. In 2014, the tribunal after considering the facts and circumstances in this case had come to a conclusion that the accident had taken place due to the rash and negligent driving of the truck driver and fixed liability on the insurance company to pay compensation. The tribunal had directed the insurance company to pay a compensation of Rs 2.2 lakh for the Rethanya’s death, Rs 52.68 lakh for Rajinikanth, Rs 2.13 lakh for Saroja and Rs 6.55 lakh for the injuries sustained by Vinitha.

Challenging the orders of the tribunal, the insurance company filed the present civil miscellaneous appeals before the HC Madurai bench in 2016. The counsel for the company submitted that Rajinikanth had driven his car in a rash and negligent manner, hit a cow and then collided with a truck. He submitted that there is no negligence on part of the truck driver.

A division bench of justices V Bharathidasan and J Nisha Banu said that according to Vinitha, an eyewitness who was travelling in the car, the truck came in a rash and negligent manner and collided with the car. She had denied the fact that the car hit a cow and thereafter collided with the truck.

The judges observed that the tribunal had rightly concluded that the accident had taken place due to rash and negligent driving of the truck. The compensation awarded by the tribunal was fair and cannot be said to be excessive. Hence, the judges confirmed the orders passed by the tribunal and dismissed the appeals by the company.