No Contributory Negligence For Riding Without Licence Or With Two Pillion Riders Unless Directly Linked To Accident: Rajasthan High Court

The Rajasthan High Court held that the mere act of riding a motorcycle without having a valid license and with 2 pillion riders might be a violation of Motor Vehicles Rules, but such acts by themselves could not be a basis to assume contributory negligence of the deceased in an accident unless there was a specific finding to that effect. Justice Sandeep Taneja further affirmed that since the deceased was a barber, his monthly income had to be calculated based on the minimum wages of a skilled worker and not that of an unskilled one, considering that under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, the State Government had treated a barber as a skilled worker. The Court was hearing the claimants' appeal against the claim awarded by the Motor Vehicle Accidents Tribunal. It was argued by the petitioners that the tribunal had committed an error in assessing 20% contributory negligence on the part of the deceased merely because he was driving without a valid license and with two pillion riders. Further, it was submitted that since the deceased was a barber, his monthly income should have been assessed based on the minimum wages of a skilled labourer and not an unskilled one. After hearing the contentions, the Court made a reference to the Supreme Court case of Sudhir Kumar Rana Vs. Surinder Singh & Ors., in which it was held that in the absence of a specific finding that the injured was driving the bike in a rash or negligent manner, the mere fact of no valid license while riding could not be a ground to hold him guilty of contributory negligence. Further reference was made to the case of Mohammed Siddique & Anr Vs. National Insurance Company Ltd. & Ors., which held that if more than two persons were sitting on a bike, unless it was established that such an act contributed to the accident or the impact, they could not be held liable for contributory negligence. In this background, the Court highlighted a specific finding of the tribunal as per which the accident occurred due to negligence of the jeep driver, without any negligence being attributed to the deceased. In this light, the Court opined, “…despite concluding that deceased was not at fault in the accident, the learned Tribunal attributed contributory negligence to him merely because he did not have a valid driving license and was riding the motorcycle alongwith two pillion riders… this Court is of the view that the learned Tribunal was not justified in holding the deceased liable for contributory negligence.”Hence, the tribunal's order to the extent of attributing 20% contributory negligence to the deceased was set aside. Further, it was agreed that under the Minimum Wages Act, the State had considered a barber as a skilled labourer. Accordingly, the compensation awarded by the tribunal was enhanced, and the petition was disposed of. Title: Smt. Pushpa & Anr. v Hemraj & Anr. Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Raj) 140Click Here To Read/Download Order

No Contributory Negligence For Riding Without Licence Or With Two Pillion Riders Unless Directly Linked To Accident: Rajasthan High Court

Nupur Agrawal

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