The Himachal Pradesh High Court (HPHC) has ruled that a fatal accident victim’s lack of a valid driving licence cannot automatically be treated as contributory negligence when determining compensation.
🔹 Facts and Background
The case involved a young man who died in a road accident. The lower tribunal had awarded compensation to his family but reduced the amount by 25% on account of “contributory negligence,” reasoning that he was riding without a licence.
The family challenged this deduction, arguing that the accident resulted from the other vehicle’s rash and negligent driving, not any reckless act on the deceased’s part.
✳️ Court’s Reasoning & Decision
The High Court held that mere absence of a driving licence may attract penal liability under the law, but it does not automatically imply negligence or causation vis-à-vis the accident itself.
Since the offence of driving without licence and the tort/damage-based liability in an accident are separate legal notions, lack of licence alone cannot justify a deduction from compensation.
Accordingly, the Court set aside the 25% deduction for contributory negligence and awarded enhanced compensation to the deceased’s family.
✅ Legal Significance
This judgment underscores that in motor-accident compensation cases, the focus must remain on causation and fault, not regulatory non-compliance such as licence status.
It clarifies that a statutory breach under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 may lead to penal consequences but should not automatically reduce civil liability to compensate victims.
For victims and their families, this provides reassurance that technicalities like licence non-possession will not be used to unduly cut compensation when accident was not their fault.
