Kolkata, June 13: The Kolkata High Court has increased the compensation awarded to the family of a homemaker who lost her life in a road accident on a national highway in West Bengal. The court ruled that merely parking a vehicle does not absolve its owner or insurer from liability during an accident.
Justice Bishwaroop Chowdhury presided over the case, which involved appeals and counter-objections related to a fatal accident that occurred near the Harina bus stand on NH-6 in the Kharagpur local police station area on April 16, 2022.
In this tragic incident, Shamit Samanta, his wife Barnali Samanta Nandi, and their eldest daughter Sinjini lost their lives, while their younger daughter Sanvi sustained serious injuries.
According to the complainants, the family was traveling from Kolkata to Midnapore when a speeding truck overtook their car from the extreme left, raising a cloud of dust that severely reduced visibility. Their vehicle collided with a mini-truck parked in the middle of the highway without any signal or warning.
Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company contested the compensation awarded by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, arguing that the mini-truck was stationary at the time of the accident, thus its driver could not be held negligent.
Rejecting this argument, the Kolkata High Court stated that if a vehicle is parked improperly and poses a risk to other road users, liability still exists.
Justice Chowdhury emphasized that simply stating a vehicle was parked does not exempt its owner from responsibility, especially when the vehicle is illegally positioned and causes an accident.
The judge noted that the tribunal relied on evidence and the police charge sheet, which indicated that the accident occurred due to the mini-truck being illegally parked on the road.
The ruling affirmed that there was no error in the trial judge’s conclusion that the accident was caused by the negligent parking of the mini-truck in the middle of the road.
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