In a significant ruling that underscores the responsibilities of highway drivers, the Supreme Court has held that abruptly stopping a vehicle on a highway without warning constitutes negligence, regardless of the underlying reason. The verdict came in a case involving a catastrophic accident that resulted in the amputation of a young engineering student’s leg.
A bench comprising Justices Suddhanshu Dhulia and Aravind Kumar ruled that the driver of a car who stopped suddenly on a highway — without signaling to vehicles behind — was negligent and responsible for the accident that followed.
“On a highway, high speed of vehicles is expected, and if a driver intends to stop his vehicle, he has a responsibility to give a warning or signal to other vehicles moving behind on the road,” observed Justice Dhulia, who authored the judgment.
The case involved S Mohammed Hakim, a student who suffered a life-changing injury when his motorcycle collided with the rear of a car that had come to an abrupt stop on a Coimbatore highway on January 7, 2017. Following the collision, Hakim fell onto the road and was run over by a bus coming from behind. As a result, his left leg had to be amputated.
The car driver argued that the emergency stop was necessary as his pregnant wife experienced a sudden vomiting sensation. The bench, however, rejected this explanation, stating: “The explanation given by the car driver for suddenly stopping his car in the middle of a highway is not a reasonable explanation from any angle.”
While upholding that Hakim bore contributory negligence for not maintaining sufficient distance and riding without a valid license, the court assigned him only 20% liability. It apportioned the remaining 80% between the car driver (50%) and the bus driver (30%).
“In our view, the concurrent finding that the appellant was definitely negligent in not maintaining a sufficient distance from the vehicle moving ahead and driving the motorcycle without a valid license is correct. But at the same time, it cannot be ignored that the root cause of the accident is the sudden brakes applied by the car driver,” the court stated.
The bench enhanced the compensation awarded to Hakim to ₹1.14 crore but reduced it by 20% on account of his contributory negligence. The court directed that the remaining compensation be paid by the insurance companies of both the car and the bus within four weeks.
The ruling overturned earlier findings by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, which had absolved the car driver of liability, and modified the decision of the Madras High Court, which had placed 30% of the blame on Hakim.
