The Delhi Transport Ministry has been ordered by the Delhi Court to make sure that the drivers of DTC buses operate their vehicles safely.

The court issued the instruction while awarding Rs 51 lakh in compensation to a victim who lost his left leg as a result of the reckless and careless driving of a DTC bus driver.
The victim’s leg, below the knee, was crushed under the tyre when he fell off the bus while attempting to board it. It was cut off.

Judge Ekta Gauba Mann of the Motor Accident Claim Tribunal (MACT) ordered United India Insurance to compensate victim Sudarshan Pradhan for Rs. 51 Lakh.

According to the judge, the DTC bus driver barely reduced speed at the bus stop; the bus was not stopped. The petitioner collapsed while attempting to enter the bus, and his left leg was crushed beneath the vehicle’s tyre due to the driver’s reckless and negligent driving while the front gate of the bus was also open.

So, as the head of the DTC Department, I order the Ministry of Road Transport to make sure that DTC bus drivers operate their vehicles safely, stop at bus stops, and do not leave any bus gates open while operating the vehicle. As the DTC bus is public transportation and the public has a right to use public transportation, the gates of the bus shall open when the bus stops at the bus stand, the judge ruled on June 6.

When deciding on the petition filed by the victim Sudarshan Pradhan, the MACT Judge issued the directive. He works for a private company and was 39 years old on October 16, 2020, when the disaster occurred. As a peon, he was employed by an IAS academy.

He had petitioned the DTC, the United India Insurance Company, and the bus driver. He had asked for payment.

In the petition, it was claimed that on October 16, 2020, he and his buddy Tinku Mandal were waiting for a bus outside the Signature Apartment on their way to their home in Sant Nagar, Burari.

The judgement states that after some time, at around 12.30 pm, a bus (DTC) from the BBM Depot side turned from the red light of Signature Apartment to Parmanand Chowk in a hasty and negligent manner while travelling at a high speed. At that time, the front gate was open, and the petitioner gave the bus the go-ahead to stop.

“The petitioner attempted to board the bus as the driver slowed it down. The petitioner’s hold on the bus rod slipped when the driver was driving the bus at a high rate of speed, causing the petitioner to fall to the ground, according to the judge.

The petitioner’s left leg was then crushed by the front tyre of the offending bus as the driver continued to drive it. The petitioner thus sustained severe injuries as a result. The court observed in its ruling that he was transferred to Loknayak Hospital for treatment.

In contrast, the petitioner attempted to board the moving bus while under the influence of alcohol, and there was neither a designated bus stop nor a zebra crossing at the scene of the accident, according to the driver and the DTC in their joint written statement.

The offending car was insured with the insurance company on the accident date, according to a written statement from the insurance company.

The injured attempted to board the bus from the front gate and sustained injuries, but it was argued that there was no bus stop there.

Additionally, Insurance Company claimed that the injured was under the influence of alcohol when they boarded the negligent vehicle and that as a result, they are not responsible for providing the petitioner with any compensation.

Source- the print
Link:https://theprint.in/india/ensure-drivers-of-dtc-bus-drive-properly-delhi-court-directs-transport-ministry/1622973/