Mumbai, June 4: The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT), Mumbai, has awarded compensation of Rs 17.46 lakh to the family of a 65-year-old Malad resident who died in a road accident in Gujarat in September 2018.
The tribunal also directed the insurer, New India Assurance Company Limited, to pay the compensation with 7.5 per cent annual interest from the date of filing of the claim petition until realisation.
The claim was filed by Daksha Jitendra Soni, the widow of the deceased Jitendra Haribhai Soni, along with their sons Jaydeep and Chetan Soni. The petition arose from a fatal accident that occurred on September 9, 2018, near Pardi village in Veraval, Gujarat.
Tribunal rejects insurer’s contention
According to the claimants, Jitendra Soni was travelling in a vehicle along with his wife and others. At that hour, their vehicle was struck by a rashly driven truck, which rammed into their vehicle. Soni suffered severe injuries and was rushed to Wockhardt Hospital in Rajkot, where he succumbed to his injuries during treatment.
The tribunal rejected the insurer’s contention that the driver of the vehicle in which the deceased was travelling was partly responsible for the accident.
The tribunal noted that Jitendra Soni was engaged in business activities, including liaison work in the diamond trade and stock market trading, and accepted the claimants’ assertion that he earned approximately Rs 4.5 lakh annually. After deducting personal expenses and applying the appropriate multiplier, the tribunal assessed the loss of dependency at Rs 15.38 lakh.
Pay and recover principle applied
In addition, compensation was awarded under various conventional heads, including consortium, loss of estate, funeral expenses and medical expenses. The total compensation was calculated at Rs 17,46,936.
During the proceedings, the insurer argued that the truck driver did not possess a valid and effective transport licence on the date of the accident and, therefore, there was a breach of policy conditions.
The tribunal accepted that there was a licence-related breach but relied on settled Supreme Court precedents to hold that the insurer could not avoid liability towards third-party claimants.
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Applying the “pay and recover” principle, the tribunal directed the insurer to first satisfy the award and thereafter recover the amount from the vehicle owner in accordance with law.
The tribunal directed the insurer to deposit the awarded amount within two months, failing which enhanced interest at the rate of 9 per cent per annum may become payable.
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