Delhi Court Irked Over Plea Passing Off Suicide As Road Accident

A Delhi court has expressed displeasure over a plea filed by an Uttar Pradesh-based man seeking compensation of Rs 50 lakh by passing off the alleged suicidal death of his wife as a road accident.

Rajeev Yadav had moved the court seeking hefty compensation, asserting that a high-speed truck hit his wife Pooja Yadav when she was going to the temple at 11:45 pm in October 2018 at Gautam Budh Nagar in Uttar Pradesh.

Denying relief, Motor Accident Claim Tribunal (MACT) Presiding Officer Kamini Lau said that Mr Yadav attempted to make money over the dead body of his wife by filing the claim petition by passing off her suicidal death as that of a simple motor accident.

The Presiding Officer said that Pooja had married Rajeev five months prior to her death and was regularly complaining to her parents regarding the harassment and torture meted out by him.

Ms Lau noted that Yadav's role in the death of his wife is already under scanner before a criminal court in Uttar Pradesh and that the claim plea was filed before a Delhi court in a blatant attempt to create a defence in the dowry and abetment to suicide case.

“This is not the first case where the instance of suicidal/homicidal death is being passed off as Road Traffic Accident,” she said, adding that of­late there has been a rise in such cases.

She added that there is a necessity for the courts to be more vigilant and cautious in such cases particularly when there is uncertainty with regard to the death of the deceased.