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The Supreme Court has overturned a previous ruling by the High Court of Punjab and Haryana in Rajo Devi & Another v/s Manjeet Kaur & Others., that applied the principle of contributory negligence in a fatal road accident case. The apex court found that the accident was solely caused by the rash and negligent driving of the Alto car driver, Gulzar Singh, and there was no contributory negligence on the part of the motorcyclist, Gautam.

The case stemmed from a head-on collision on July 26, 2009, between a motorcycle driven by Gautam (22) with Harpal Singh (30) as a pillion rider, and an Alto car driven by Gulzar Singh. Both motorcyclists died in the accident.

Initially, the Motor Accident Claim Tribunal (MACT) in Kaithal ruled it a case of contributory negligence, awarding 50% of the assessed compensation to the dependents of Gautam and Harpal. The High Court partially upheld this finding but enhanced the compensation amount and increased the interest rate.

However, the Supreme Court, upon reviewing new evidence including the site plan of the accident and considering the testimony of eyewitness Suresh Kumar (PW4), concluded that the High Court erred in its assessment. The site plan clearly indicated that the motorcycle was on its left side of the road when the collision occurred, supporting the claim that the Alto car was solely at fault.

Consequently, the Supreme Court ruled that the dependents of deceased Gautam are entitled to a total compensation of Rs. 9,84,000/- and the dependents of deceased Harpal Singh are entitled to Rs. 12,62,400/-, including the amounts previously deducted due to the erroneous application of contributory negligence. This compensation will carry an interest rate of 9% per annum. The balance amounts are to be deposited with the MACT within six weeks.