Mumbai: The Mumbai Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) has ordered the Western Naval Command’s Naval Transport Pool to pay a compensation of ₹23.19 lakh to a 21-year-old Colaba resident who suffered 70% disability after a bus belonging to the Indian Navy hit his two-wheeler in January 2019. The Tribunal held the Navy bus driver 70% responsible for the accident, attributing 30% contributory negligence to the victim.
The applicant, Premkumar Shivkumar Gupta, was on his way to Byculla market to purchase vegetables around 7 a.m. on January 13, 2019, when the accident occurred near INHS Ashwini Hospital in Colaba. A bus owned by the Indian Navy, coming from the opposite direction, allegedly rammed into Gupta’s scooter, rendering him unconscious.
He was first admitted to INHS Ashwini Hospital and subsequently transferred to Bombay Hospital, G.T. Hospital, and finally Ganga Medical Centre in Coimbatore, where multiple surgeries were conducted for a right brachial plexus injury.
Gupta, a Merchant Navy aspirant and then a trainee reportedly earning Rs 10,000 per month, claimed lifelong impairment and loss of opportunity due to the injuries. The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities issued him an 85% disability certificate.
The Navy, in its defense, alleged that Gupta was speeding and was talking on his mobile phone at the time of the accident, which caused him to lose control and crash into the bus. The bus driver, Ashok, testified that Gupta veered onto the wrong side of the road near an Army school while students and parents crowded the street. His testimony went unchallenged during cross-examination.
Despite the conflicting accounts, the tribunal concluded that both parties shared responsibility for the head-on collision. “The bus was a heavy and larger vehicle and thus bore a higher duty of precaution. This is clearly a case of contributory negligence,” the tribunal observed, placing 70% blame on the bus driver and 30% on the victim.
The court awarded Gupta Rs 17.99 lakh for loss of future income, Rs 9.79 lakh towards medical expenses, Rs 1 lakh for future treatment, and Rs 2 lakh for loss of marriage prospects—owing to his permanent disability—among other heads of compensation. After deducting 30% due to contributory negligence, Gupta was granted Rs 23.19 lakh with 7% interest from the date of application until realization.
