By IANS
New Delhi : The Delhi High Court Monday favoured a hike in the compensation for victims of road accidents caused by Blueline buses and pulled up the central government for not revising the amount for the past 13 years despite the enormous increase in the cost of living.
“It is very shameful on the part of the Union of India that no change has been made in the compensation chart in the Motor Vehicles Act after November 1994,” said a division bench of Justices Mukul Mudgal and Reva Khetarpal.
“The fine of Rs.50,000 fixed in the year 1994 for the death caused to a commuter must have multiplied many times if you go by the increase in the cost of living in these 13 years,” the bench said.
The court directed the central government to file its reply on an increment in the index of cost of living, which would be considered while formulating the amount of fines.
Meanwhile, the court has given interim relief to the capital’s Blueline bus owners and asked them to deposit the compensation amount and get their confiscated vehicles released.
The court, however, made it clear that it was an interim arrangement till it formulated broader guidelines for fines to be imposed on bus owners for their vehicles’ involvement in fatal accidents.
“We intend to frame the guidelines for compensation to be paid by the owners to send a clear message to them to hire good drivers.
“All residents of the city are entitled to have a safe and efficient public transport system in the capital like other cities of the world,” the bench said.
The fines are likely to vary in each accident depending upon the gravity of crime and injury caused to victims, the court said.
The court has asked the bus operators to pay a compensation of Rs.100,000 each to the kin in case of death, Rs.50,000 each for grievous injuries and Rs.25,000 each for minor injuries caused by the buses.
“Pay the compensation and then the court would order the release of the buses,” said the court emphatically, reminding the owners that the toll in Blueline accidents in the city had touched 108 so far this year.
“It’s becoming shocking day by day and cannot get worse than this,” the bench said, referring to the frequent accidents caused by these privately owned buses.
The capital has over 4,000 Blueline buses, which form a crucial part of the city’s public transport system.