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Hitesh Singh vs. Ravi and connected matters

Motor Accident Claims Appeal · 2026:DHC:7881Decided 17 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
MAC.APP. 439/2025, MAC.APP. 443/2025, MAC.APP. 680/2025CNR: DLHC010448422025
Justice Anish Dayal

Background

On 23 April 2019, a bus owned by the appellant, Hitesh Singh, collided with a scooter carrying Ravi (the driver) along with his mother and sister as pillion riders, near Oberoi Maidens Hotel. The Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal awarded Ravi compensation of Rs. 54,234 with 9% interest. The bus owner appealed, arguing that the scooter's negligence, triple-riding and the driver lacking a licence, should shift blame away from the bus, and that his own guilty plea in the connected criminal case should not count against him in the compensation case.

Decision Breakdown

The Court held that the criminal conviction was not by itself determinative, but that the site plan and vehicle-damage reports independently showed the scooter was on the correct (left) side of the road and was hit by the bus from the side, pointing to the bus driver's negligence. Relying on a consistent line of Supreme Court judgments, the Court held that triple-riding or the driver lacking a licence does not by itself amount to contributory negligence unless it is shown to have actually caused or worsened the accident: no such causal link was proven here. The Court also upheld the modest sums awarded for medical expenses given the injuries sustained. The appeal was dismissed, and the compensation, along with accrued interest, was ordered to be paid within four weeks.

Lesson Learnt

Riding without a licence or breaking traffic rules (like triple-riding) does not automatically reduce an accident victim's compensation: the insurer or vehicle owner must actually prove that the rule violation caused the accident or worsened the injury, not simply that it happened.

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