Injured woman comes to rescue of MTC bus driver

CHENNAI: In a rare gesture, a woman who fell down inside a bus and sustained injuries has come to the rescue of the MTC crew by swearing in an affidavit and stating that she fell down accidentally and the driver cannot be held responsible for the same.In the absence of any complaint from her, the woman D Santha of Manali also wondered as to how the police registered a case against the driver without her knowledge and consent.She filed the affidavit in response to a criminal original petition from K Murali, the driver, who was stopped from work, following the registration of the case. The petition sought to quash the proceedings pending before the III Metropolitan Magistrate in GT for an offence under the Motor Vehicles Act.According to advocate RY George Williams, Murali took out the route No 44C bus from Broadway terminus to IOC, on December 9 last year. While proceeding near Clive Factory, Santha fell down inside the bus and sustained head injuries. The crew members promptly took her to the Stanley hospital and provided necessary treatment.  She did not file any complaint either to the MTC management or to the police. However, the Elephant Gate police registered a case against the driver and he was orally asked by his higher-ups not to report for duty. Hence, the present petition.Justice T Mathivanan, before whom the petition came up last week, quashed the criminal proceedings pending before the magistrate.