Road accident: Kin of deceased gets over Rs 58 L compensation

New Delhi: A Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) has awarded over Rs 58 lakh compensation to the family members of a 37-year-old man who died in a road accident due to "negligent driving" by a truck driver.

The tribunal directed the United India Insurance Company, insurer of the offending truck, to pay a compensation of Rs 58,12,600 to the wife and two minor kids of Ajay Kumar for his "untimely" death when the tempo he was travelling in, collided with a speeding truck in Haridwar in October 2011. "In view of totality of facts and circumstances of the case and on the basis of material as placed on record it is shown that respondent no. 1 (truck driver) had caused the present accident by driving the offending vehicle in a rash/ negligent manner and in the said accident Ajay Kumar succumbed to the injuries. "Postmortem examination of the deceased was also conducted and the report is nowhere disputed that Ajay had expired due to injuries sustained in the said accident," MACT Presiding Officer Barkha Gupta said. An eyewitness told the tribunal that on the early morning of October 11, 2011, there was a head-on collision between the tempo in which Ajay was travelling and a speeding truck after which the victim was rushed to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to injuries. Ajay`s wife submitted before the tribunal that there was no divider on the road and the accident took place due to the rashly driven truck. Ajay, an MBA, was working as an Assistant Manager in an auto company in Haridwar on a salary of Rs 35,000 while his family members were living in Delhi, his 30-year-old wife Kamlesh told the tribunal. The driver and the owner of the offending vehicle pleaded that they were falsely implicated in the case and there was no negligence on their part. The insurance company alleged that the truck driver was driving without a valid licence, but the allegation could not be proved by it. The tribunal rejected the contentions of the truck owner and driver. A criminal case has also been registered against Rajinder Singh, the truck driver. The petition was filed by Ajay`s wife, two children and his parents seeking a compensation of Rs 1.5 crore for his untimely death.