In Brief
A family claiming compensation after a road accident in which the wife died faced dismissal by both the trial court and High Court. The Tribunal found the deceased's husband's driver (Manjeet Singh) negligent for maintaining only a 10–15 feet distance behind a truck on a narrow 14-foot road, violating traffic regulations. The Supreme Court upheld this finding as a concurrent finding of fact. However, it ruled that the truck owner remained liable under Section 140 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, which imposes strict liability regardless of driver fault. The Court awarded Rs. 50,000 compensation with 9% interest to the appellants."
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