In a recent court ruling, a Delhi insurance company has been ordered to pay Rs 1.98 crore in compensation to the parents of Siddharth Sharma, who tragically died in a 2016 hit-and-run incident.
Siddharth, who was 32, was fatally injured while crossing a road in the Civil Lines area on April 4, 2016, due to reckless driving by a minor.
The Motor Accident Claim Tribunal (MACT) bench, led by Judge Pankaj Sharma, held the minor's father accountable for allowing his son to drive despite previous warnings. The court found the father's negligence contributed to Siddharth's death. The compensation includes Rs 1.21 crore for damages and Rs 77.61 lakh as interest.
The court dismissed the father's plea for exemption from liability, affirming the insurance company's right to recover the amount from the father's company, which owned the vehicle. The ruling was based on a detailed police report and CCTV footage showing the minor's negligent driving.
Siddharth's sister, Shilpa Mittal, expressed frustration over the prolonged legal process, vowing to continue seeking justice. Despite the eight years since the accident, she highlighted that no stringent actions had been taken against the minor driver, and the trial had yet to commence
."In fact, the father Manoj Aggarwal, wilfully cultivated the illegal behaviour of his minor son by ignoring his act at the cost of other road users. He failed to realise even from his past acts that allowing his minor son to drive can be disastrous to others. Instead of preventing his minor son from driving a Mercedes car, he chose to ignore it, which implies tacit consent on his part. The very fact that at the time of accident he was at home, the same was all the more reason to stop his son from taking the car from home for a joy ride," the court said on July 6.
"Respondent 3 (juvenile) was responsible for the death due to his neglect and default in driving the offending vehicle, therefore the petitioners have become entitled to be compensated for the death of deceased in the above accident...," the tribunal said in its order dated July 6.
it directed the car's insurer, HDFC Ergo General Insurance Co. Ltd., to award ₹1.21 crore as compensation to the victim's family along with ₹77.61 lakh as interest. The total compensation was ₹1,98,89,820.
304 IPC: of the Indian Penal Code deals with the crime of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. It essentially lays out the punishment for causing someone's death unintentionally.
Whoever commits culpable homicide not amounting to murder: This means causing the death of another person, but without the intention of murder.
shall be punished with imprisonment for life: This is the maximum penalty, which can be a life sentence.
or imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years: This refers to a lesser sentence, which could be rigorous or simple imprisonment, and can last up to ten years.
and shall also be liable to fine: The court can also impose a fine on the perpetrator.
It's important to note that there's an additional clause within Section 304. If the act that caused the death was done with the intention of causing death or serious bodily injury, the punishment could be more severe.
For causing a death due to a rash or negligent act (not amounting to culpable homicide), there's a separate section - 304A. This carries a lighter punishment of up to two years imprisonment and/or a fine.
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