A Delhi tribunal has said that mere consumption of alcohol by a road accident victim does not establish contributory negligence.
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Alcohol smell not enough: What Delhi court said on accident claims, will it affect further judgements? | Image: X
‘Alcohol Smell Not Enough To Refuse Accident Claim’: Merely consuming alcohol does not prove that a road accident victim was negligent, said a Delhi tribunal on Wednesday. The tribunal made the remark while granting Rs 30.77 lakh compensation to Sachin Dhawan, who was injured in a road accident in 2018.
The tribunal said that the petitioner’s medical report showed that his breath smelled of alcohol.
However, police didn’t record the quantity of alcohol consumed by the petitioner at the time of the accident. The tribunal said that this alone does not establish that he was riding the motorcycle after consuming alcohol beyond the permissible limit.
“Even otherwise, merely because someone has consumed alcohol within or beyond the permissible limit does not entitle anyone else to drive his vehicle rashly and hit another person who has consumed alcohol. Mere consumption of alcohol by the victim does not per se establish contributory negligence,” the tribunal said.
