HC orders relief for wife of accident victim
In a special gesture, the Madras High Court has ordered compensation
to the wife of an accident victim, even though he had only suffered
injuries and had not lost his life.
The court held that women were entitled to separate monetary compensation if their husbands became incapacitated. A Division Bench of Justices S. Vimala and S. Ramathilagam held thus after suo motu including M. Mythili, wife of motor accident victim Mohankumar of Vellore, as one of the claimants, and directing an insurance company to pay her Rs. 5 lakh, apart from the Rs. 68.82 lakh ordered to be paid to her husband, along with interest at the rate of 6% per annum.
The judges said they could imagine the trauma his wife would have undergone on account of him having being pushed to a vegetative state.
“In such a scenario, the role of the spouse increases manifold; not only [does] she act as his guardian, but also has to adorn the role of a mother, an attender and what not... The injured and his wife are deprived of their conjugal relationship even while alive, which is more cruel than bearing the pain of death. The case on hand not only evokes judicial sympathy but also compassion...The tentacles of judicial activism should reach and alleviate the suffering of persons who seek justice at the hands of this court. Therefore, this court deems it fit and proper that both the claimant and the spouse are compensated,” the Bench said.
The court held that women were entitled to separate monetary compensation if their husbands became incapacitated. A Division Bench of Justices S. Vimala and S. Ramathilagam held thus after suo motu including M. Mythili, wife of motor accident victim Mohankumar of Vellore, as one of the claimants, and directing an insurance company to pay her Rs. 5 lakh, apart from the Rs. 68.82 lakh ordered to be paid to her husband, along with interest at the rate of 6% per annum.
The judges said they could imagine the trauma his wife would have undergone on account of him having being pushed to a vegetative state.
“In such a scenario, the role of the spouse increases manifold; not only [does] she act as his guardian, but also has to adorn the role of a mother, an attender and what not... The injured and his wife are deprived of their conjugal relationship even while alive, which is more cruel than bearing the pain of death. The case on hand not only evokes judicial sympathy but also compassion...The tentacles of judicial activism should reach and alleviate the suffering of persons who seek justice at the hands of this court. Therefore, this court deems it fit and proper that both the claimant and the spouse are compensated,” the Bench said.
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