Shimla, Dec 5 (UNI) In an exemplary judgment underscoring institutional accountability, the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Upasana Sharma has convicted DAV Nahan School Principal Dhanendra Goyal for negligence leading to the 2019 Khadakoli bus accident, which claimed the lives of five students and the driver.
The verdict, delivered on Thursday, holds the principal directly responsible for ignoring repeated warnings about the bus’s poor condition and for deploying an unqualified driver.
The court noted that the school bus, which met with the fatal accident on January 5, 2019, suffered a mechanical failure, a fault that could have been prevented had timely repairs been undertaken.
The verdict, delivered on Thursday, holds the principal directly responsible for ignoring repeated warnings about the bus’s poor condition and for deploying an unqualified driver.
The court noted that the school bus, which met with the fatal accident on January 5, 2019, suffered a mechanical failure, a fault that could have been prevented had timely repairs been undertaken.
During the trial, ten witnesses deposed that several complaints had been made to Principal Goyal about the deteriorating condition of the vehicle, but neither the bus was repaired nor replaced.
Significantly, the court found that the driver assigned to the vehicle did not possess a licence to operate heavy vehicles and lacked the mandatory five years’ experience required to drive a school bus.
This lapse, the court held, reflected a serious breach of duty on the part of the principal, who was responsible for ensuring compliance with safety norms.
The court awarded the following punishments: three months’ simple imprisonment and a fine of Rs 250 under Section 336 IPC, four months’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 500 under Section 337, one year and a fine of Rs 1,000 under Section 338, two years’ simple imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000 under Section 304-A, and a Rs 1,000 fine under Section 180 of the Motor Vehicles Act.
In case of default in payment of fines, the convict will undergo an additional 15 days’ simple imprisonment. All sentences will run concurrently.
Calling the negligence “grave and preventable,” the court held that the tragedy was the direct outcome of administrative failure at the school’s highest level.
