Holding that a motorcyclist cannot be blamed merely because his vehicle rammed into a truck parked on a road at night, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that the entire responsibility for a fatal accident rested with the truck driver who had left the vehicle stationary without parking lights, indicators or warning signals.Allowing an appeal by the victim’s family, Justice Sudeepti Sharma set aside Ropar Motor Accident Claims Tribunal finding recorded nearly 15 years back attributing 50 per cent contributory negligence to the victim. The Bench held that the accident occurred solely due to the negligence of the truck driver who had parked the vehicle on the road without any indication or warning signals during night hours.“A careful perusal of the award reveals that the conclusion regarding contributory negligence is wholly unsustainable in the eyes of law and contrary to the evidence available on record. The Tribunal failed to appreciate the oral as well as documentary evidence in its proper perspective and has erroneously attributed 50 per cent contributory negligence to the deceased,” Justice Sharma held.The Bench asserted that the Tribunals reasoning proceeded on conjectures and surmises, rather than on legally admissible evidence. Justice Sharma asserted the Tribunal presumed that the victim was riding at a high speed merely because the motorcycle rammed into the stationary truck. “There is, however, no cogent evidence on record to establish either excessive speed or rash and negligent driving on the part of the deceased,” the Bench observed.The judgment came on an appeal against a November 2011 award of Ropar Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, which allowed the claim petition filed by the victim’s family, but held both the rider and the truck driver equally responsible for the accident.Examining the record, Justice Sharma observed that the factual position emerging from the evidence was that the offending truck had been parked on the road during night hours without parking lights, indicators or warning signals.“Once this fact stood established, the primary negligence clearly rested upon the driver of the offending truck, who created a hazardous obstruction on the roadway in violation of statutory safety requirements,” the Court held.Referring to the legal position governing vehicles left stationary on public roads, Justice Sharma observed that parking a vehicle on a public road without taking adequate precautions, particularly during night hours, such as switching on parking lights or placing reflectors and warning indicators, constituted actionable negligence because it created a dangerous obstruction for other road users.Justice Sharma also found fault with the Tribunal for drawing an adverse inference against the victim despite the fact that the truck driver did not enter the witness box to establish that the vehicle had been parked with proper parking lights or warning indicators. “The burden to establish compliance with statutory safety norms was upon the driver and owner of the offending vehicle, which burden remained completely undischarged,” the court observed.Justice Sharma further noted that no specific plea of contributory negligence had been raised by the insurance company and no issue on that aspect had been framed by the Tribunal. “In absence of pleadings, issue and evidence, the plea of contributory negligence could not have been legally entertained by the Tribunal,” the Ccurt held, adding that the finding travelled beyond the pleadings of the parties.Justice Sharma ruled: “It is held that the accident in question occurred solely due to the rash and negligent act of the driver of the offending truck, who had parked the vehicle on the road without any indication or warning signals during night hours.”Setting aside the finding of contributory negligence, the Court recalculated the compensation payable to the claimants, granting future prospects and awarding amounts under conventional heads in accordance with settled Supreme Court principles.Justice Sharma worked out the total compensation at Rs 31.60 lakh. After taking into account Rs.7,39,292 already awarded by the Tribunal, the Court granted an enhanced compensation of Rs 24.20 lakh to the claimants.The enhanced amount was directed to carry interest at the rate of nine per cent per annum from the date of filing of the claim petition till its realisation. The insurance company was directed to deposit the amount within two months.