Thane (Mah): The Thane Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) has ordered the driver and owner of an autorickshaw to jointly and severally pay a compensation of Rs 6.73 lakh to the family of a man who died in a mishap in 2011.
MACT member K D Vadane directed the auto’s owner Mahadeo Mhatre and driver Pradyum Madhavi to pay the said compensation with 8 per cent interest from January 2012 to the 55-year-old widow and son of deceased Dilip Tawde.
Vadane, in his order, held that insurance policy submitted by the applicants to the Tribunal was not valid. The Tribunal also exonerated the insurance firm from the responsibility of paying the compensation.
In their application filed in January 2012, the widow Vaijayanti Tawde and her son Avinash (27), residents of Airoli in Navi Mumbai, informed MACT that the 62-year-old victim was then working as a driver and earning Rs 10,000 monthly.
The petition was filed against the auto’s driver, owner and the insurance company – Iffco Tokio General Insurance Company Ltd. On January 31, 2011, Dilip was riding his bicycle in Rabale area of Navi Mumbai, when an auto-rickshaw rammed into him which resulted into his death, Vaijayanti claimed.
The petition further claimed that the mishap occurred due to negligence of the auto driver and hence its owner and the driver were liable to pay a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to them.
Both the driver and the owner did not appear and the matter was decided ex-parte against them. The insurance firm’s counsel KV Poojari contested the claim and challenged the age, service, dependency, and negligence on the driver’s part.
He further said that the policy before the Tribunal was not valid at the time of accident and was either manipulated or fabricated one and hence the claim be dismissed.
The Tribunal concluded that the applicants had proved the case against the auto’s owner and driver. The compensation will include Rs. 4.48 lakh towards future loss of dependency, Rs 1 lakh each towards loss of estate, love and affection and Rs 25,000 towards funeral and last rites of the deceased.
