Mumbai: Court holds scooty rider who overtook from left, also responsible for mishap

A magistrate court has held a victim in a road accident also responsible for the mishap and said that he had not taken reasonable care and tried to overtake the taxi with his scooty from the left side through a narrow space.

The incident had taken place near Sukhsagar restaurant signal when the complainant Ajil Khan was headed from Haji Ali to Nariman Point. Khan had lodged a complaint against a female student and stated that she had suddenly opened the door of a taxi she was commuting in, due to which it had hit his scooty’s handle and he had fallen. He had suffered a ligament tear due to the accident.

The court said in its judgment that the prosecution witness taxi driver had deposed when cross-examined that the complainant was driving the two-wheeler at a high speed and that there was only a distance between 1 to 1.5 ft between the taxi and the footpath to its left. “The distance of 1 to 1.5 ft is a very narrow distance and a two wheeler cannot move from it. Taking a two wheeler in the distance when a taxi is standing is also not safe,” Metropolitan Magistrate Nadeem Patel said in the order.

“Even if it is assumed that the door was opened by the accused, the rider of the two wheeler is equally responsible. He should have taken due care. Generally vehicles should overtake from the right side,” the court stated. It noted that the complainant had tried to overtake from the left side when the taxi was standing very close to the footpath. Therefore, it said that even if the door opened suddenly, it cannot be said that the accused is negligent.

Magistrate Patel said that therefore, it cannot be said that the accident took place only due to the negligence of the student. The court called it a case where both sides had not taken adequate care.