Delhi HC terms Blueline buses as 'killer'

The Delhi high court has termed Blueline buses as "killer" and held them responsible for most of the accidental deaths in the capital.

"The Blueline buses are the major killers as far as Delhi is concerned. These killer blueline buses have played havoc on Delhi roads and every year precious lives get sacrificed by these buses," Justice Kailash Gambhir, in a recent verdict, said.

"These buses have unleashed a kind of death drive putting in danger the lives of Delhiites on the roads of the capital," he said, deciding a petition filed by the parents of a  man killed in a road accident in 1999, seeking enhancement of compensation awarded to them after the death of their 21-year-old son.

The bench, which also pulled up the insurance companies for creating "bottlenecks" in award of compensation, cited Delhi police's data on fatal accidents in support of its assertions.

"As per the recent data released by the Delhi police, a total of 8,270 accidents had occurred in the capital in the year 2006, in which 2,050 people were killed," the bench said.

The court, which enhanced the amount as demanded, said no compensation could fill the void created by the loss of a person.

"Death of any person in a family torments and shatters the entire family, more particularly, when it is the death of a sole bread earner," it said, adding no compensation could bring solace to the victim's family.