Punjab and Haryana High Court awards Rs 1.3 crore as damages under MV Act: 'Victim deprived of compensation for over 20 years, our system responsible for delay'

The Punjab and Haryana High Court in the case Gagandeep @ Monti v. Sukhbir Singh and others observed that the judicial system needs self-assessment as it was 'responsible' for a delay of 24 years to decide 'just compensation' to a road accident victim suffering pelvic fracture urethral injury.

- TDG NETWORK

The court in the case enhanced the compensation from an amount of Rs.7 lakhs awarded by the Tribunal to Rs.1.3 Crores to the victim who was permanently disabled in a road accident.

The bench headed by Justice Sanjay Vashisth in its order stated that, 'The present matter is a locus classicus wherein the injured-victim has been deprived of just compensation for more than two decades (a total of more than 24 years), awarding of which is the primary objective of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and such responsibility for such a delay cannot be fixed on anyone except our system, which requires introspection and self-assessment, to equip itself for making an early decision, especially in the cases which involves painful or sensitive subject matter.'

Further, the court in the case noted that the victim had been under consistent treatment since the day of the accident in 2000 to 2022.