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Uttarakhand Transport Corporation vs. Shabbir Ahmed & Ors.

Motor Accident Claims Appeal · 2026:DHC:7742Decided 10 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
MAC.APP. 236/2024CNR: DLHC010250382024
Justice Anish Dayal

Background

A young man, Imran, died in November 2018 when he was travelling as one of three riders (triple riding) on a scooter near Kashmere Gate Metro Station, and a bus owned by Uttarakhand Transport Corporation hit the scooter from behind, crushing him under its front wheel. The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal had awarded his family compensation of Rs. 21,27,200 with 8% interest, attributing full negligence to the bus driver, and the Corporation appealed, arguing that triple riding on the scooter should reduce the compensation through a finding of contributory negligence.

Decision Breakdown

Reviewing the site plan and Mechanical Inspection Report, the High Court found it plausible that the overloaded, triple-ridden scooter had lost balance while descending a flyover and struck a road divider in addition to being hit by the bus, warranting some contributory negligence against the deceased for violating the legal limit on the number of riders (Section 128 of the Motor Vehicles Act). The Court therefore reduced the compensation by 10% for contributory negligence, while also correcting minor computational errors on funeral expenses and loss-of-estate amounts in line with the Supreme Court's Pranay Sethi guidelines, arriving at a revised compensation of Rs. 19,08,180 with 8% interest.

Lesson Learnt

Riding a two-wheeler with more passengers than legally permitted can result in a reduction of compensation in the event of an accident, even where the other vehicle's driver was also at fault: courts can apportion blame between both parties based on physical evidence like the accident site plan.

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