The family of a man, who died in a road accident involving a rashly driven car six years ago, has been awarded compensation of over Rs36 lakh by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT). The tribunal directed National Insurance Company, with which the car was insured, to pay Rs36,70,561 to the wife, four children and parents of the victim, Mange Ram.
MACT Presiding Officer Rajender Kumar Shastri said the driver and owner of the car contended that the accident took place due to the negligence of 38-year-old Ram but no evidence was led to prove it. “Considering all this, I have no hesitation in coming to the conclusion that the accident in question was caused due to rash and negligent driving of respondent no. 1 (driver and owner of car) and victim Mange Ram died due to injuries suffered in the accident,” the Presiding Officer said.
The victim’s family members said in their petition that the accident took place on the morning of July 15, 2009 when Mange Ram was on his motorcycle headed towards Begumpur from Rohini. When he reached Sector 24, a speeding car driven by Krishan Kumar rear-ended his bike. Due to the impact, Mange Ram fell sustaining grievous injuries. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. He was employed as a dresser in ESI Hospital in Rohini and was earning Rs16,225 per month.
Car owner Krishan Kumar alleged that the victim was riding his motorcycle at breakneck speed. Kumar claimed that he had parked his car on the right side of the road and it was Ram who had rear-ended his bike. The insurance company also claimed that Mange Ram was negligent in his driving and hence, the quantum of compensation was liable to be slashed accordingly.The tribunal, however, said there were no contradictions in the statements of the two witnesses, out of whom one was an eyewitness to the accident and there was no reason to doubt their testimonies.