The Appellate Division has stayed a High Court order to compensate Tk 10 million to the family of Rajib Hossain, who had lost an arm in a race between two buses in Dhaka on Apr 3, died of the severe head injuries sustained in the accident on Apr 17.
A four-member bench headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain passed the order Tuesday.
On May 8, the High Court ordered two bus companies — state-owned BRTC and Swajan Paribahan — to pay Tk 10 million to the family of Rajib Hossain.
The Appellate Division instructed the High Court to form an independent and impartial committee to identify who are responsible for the accident that took the life of an innocent passenger.
According to the instruction of the upper court, the committee is scheduled to submit its report by June 30 and based on the report the compensation for the family will be decided.
Twenty two-year-old Rajib, who worked part-time as a computer operator, was on his way to the college from his Jatrabarhi home when the accident occurred on the afternoon of Apr 3.
The photo of his severed hand stuck between the buses had shaken the nation.
Rajib died of the severe hand injuries sustained during the accident on Apr 17 while being treated at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
Rajib, who had lost both his parents a few years ago, is survived by two school-going brothers.
On Apr 4, Supreme Court lawyer Ruhul Quddus Kajal filed a petition with the court, when it ordered the bus companies to bear Rajib’s medical expenses.
It also issued a rule why the bus operators will not be forced to pay Tk 10 million in damages.
Later on May 8, the court ordered the bus companies to pay the amount to Rajib’s brothers and it also instructed the bus operators to pay half of the amount within a month.
The fund had to be kept in a joint account with the Sonali Bank and as Rajib’s brothers are minors, the account will be maintained by their aunt Jahanara Begum and government official Omar Faruq, a family friend from Rajib’s ancestral home.
The court has set Jun 25 for the next hearing on the matter.