The Gujarat High Court has ruled that carrying two pillion riders on a motorcycle, by itself, is not enough to hold the rider negligent in a road accident, setting aside a finding of contributory negligence made by a motor accident tribunal.
In an order delivered by Justice Hasmukh Suthar, the court held that negligence cannot be presumed merely because three persons were travelling on a two-wheeler, especially when there is no material on record to show that the act of “tripling” contributed to the accident or caused the rider to lose control.
The case arose from a fatal accident on February 24, 2019, in Junagadh district, where a state transport bus rammed a motorcycle from behind. The two-wheeler was being ridden by Mayur Dhuda, who was accompanied by his sister Sejalben and niece Bhavnaben. The collision resulted in the death of two of the three occupants, while the third sustained injuries.
Following the accident, the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) had held that Mayur Dhuda was guilty of 10 percent contributory negligence on the ground that he was riding the motorcycle with two pillion riders. His family challenged this finding before the High Court.
Allowing the appeal, the court made it clear that contributory negligence must be established through evidence and cannot be assumed. It observed that a road collision does not automatically indicate negligence on the part of a two-wheeler rider.
“In the absence of any material proving contributory negligence of the deceased, merely the deceased was riding tripling is not a ground to hold the deceased negligent,” the court said. It further noted that unless there is evidence showing that tripling led to loss of control, rash driving, or directly contributed to the accident, liability cannot be fastened on the motorcyclist.
The High Court found that the tribunal had committed an error in attributing 10 percent negligence to the deceased and rejected the arguments advanced on behalf of the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation. It held that the bus driver was solely negligent in causing the accident.
As a result, the court modified the tribunal’s order and enhanced the compensation payable to the family of the deceased motorcycle rider from Rs 12,51,720 to Rs 14,93,900.
