Can you imagine how terrible the death of a student in a road accident can be? One such incredibly unfortunate incident took place at Kuril Flyover in Dhaka when an NSU student was killed in a road accident.
Legal principles suggest that the state cannot avoid the responsibility for the victims of such incidents. The right to life is one of the fundamental rights mentioned in part III of the constitution, and it is the constitutional obligation of the state to ensure the life and liberty of people.
According to article 32 of the Constitution, it is said that no person shall be deprived of life or personal liberty. That is, no one can be deprived of life and individual liberty, and the state will ensure these fundamental rights of citizens.
So, the state’s basic responsibility is to ensure the safety of the people, but often our administration does not show enough competence to ensure the safety of its citizens. As per a report of the Bangladesh Road Safety Foundation, 6,284 people died and 7,468 people were left injured by road accidents in 2021. So, it is clear that the state is failing repeatedly in fulfilling its constitutional responsibility.
We often see that temporary assistance is given to the families of the deceased. Such temporary aid is not enough to alleviate their miseries. In contrast, due to delays in the legal procedure and lack of financial support, most of the families of those killed in road accidents do not take any legal action for compensation.
At this point, a milestone case (Bangladesh Beverage Industries Ltd vs Rowan Akther) is essential to this discussion. This case can be a great example of a compensatory mechanism in road accidents.
Mozammel Hossain Montu was crossing the road when a truck approaching from the wrong side ran him over. He then died at the hospital. It was clear to the court that the accident was caused by the driver’s negligence. The court verdict was to pay approximately Tk1.7 crore to Montu’s family as compensation.
Another case, Catherine Masud vs Kashed Mia, is another excellent example of justice for road accident victims. The background of the judgement is that filmmaker Tareque Masud, with four others, instantly died in a road accident in Manikganj by a bus coming from the opposite side. The accident was caused by reckless driving in the wrong lane. A compensation to Catherine Masud of approximately Tk4.6cr was decided upon.
These two cases can guide all injured people and families of the victims of road accidents. The cause of all road accidents in Bangladesh is the negligence of drivers, unfit vehicles, unscrupulous drivers, and various counts of mismanagement on the road. Although state institutions oversee all this, they should rethink whether they are fulfilling their responsibilities or not.
It seems that the state is not able to ensure the safety of its citizens and is not providing adequate compensation to the victims of accidents either. Since the government is unable to fulfill its responsibility of providing security for the lives of the people, it is the right of the people to be compensated if that right gets violated.
But how can people proceed to get compensation? Here, people can get compensation through constitutional tort. Constitutional tort means seeking compensation for violating fundamental rights guaranteed by part III of the Constitution by any government authority.
So, it is possible to get compensation in case of a road accident through constitutional tort, because it violates the victim’s fundamental rights.
The High Court has the power to order compensation in case of violation of the fundamental rights of citizens. Article 44 (1) deals with the enforcement of fundamental rights. In the case of violation of fundamental rights, the right to file a writ petition in the High Court has been granted by Article 102(1).
Thus, in the case of road accidents -- where there is a deficit in the state's duty -- it is possible to get compensation by applying constitutional tort.
Furthermore, the state’s duty is to prevent road accidents and compensate the injured persons and families of the deceased. A board of trustees has been constituted as per chapter IX of the Road Transport Act, 2018, to provide compensation to the injured and the families of deceased victims of road accidents.
However, the scheduled activities have not been seen since the establishment of this board. Therefore, an independent commission should be formed to compensate the families of those injured and killed in road accidents. The commission should be empowered to investigate and bring the culprits under the law, and ensure compensation to the victims.
Md Harisur Rohoman is a student of law and human rights.