Thane: The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT), Thane, has awarded a compensation of Rs 25,78,500 to the Thane based family of Brijendra Lal Bahadur Singh, who was killed in a road accident in November 2020.
Tribunal Findings on Liability
MACT Member R.V. Mohite while passing the judgment held that the owner and the insurer of the offending truck jointly and severally liable to pay the compensation with an interest of 9% per annum.
Details of the Accident
The accident occurred on November 29, 2020, at approximately 4:30 p.m. when the deceased, Brijendra Lal Bahadur Singh, was proceeding on his motorcycle from Ambernath to Taloja.
The Tribunal found that a motor truck came from behind "in high and uncontrollable speed in rash and negligent manner" and dashed the motorcycle near Nagzari village, Panvel.
Singh, aged 41 at the time, sustained serious injuries and succumbed to them the same day while undergoing treatment at MGM Hospital, Kamothe. The Tribunal noted that the driver of the offending truck had the "last opportunity to avoid the accident" but failed to control the speed of the vehicle.
Insurance Firm’s Defence Rejected
The defence insurance firm in its reply to the claim, had claimed that the deceased was wrong on three aspect. “deceased was not wearing a helmet, secondly he lacked a valid driving licence, thus amounting to contributorily negligent,” the insurance firm had claimed.
The same was however rejected by the Tribunal on the grounds that the firm had failed to produce any supporting evidence to substantiate the claim, thereby holding that the accident was solely due to the negligence of the truck driver.
The deceased's six dependents—his widow Kriti Brijendra Singh, three children (Siddhi, Aditya, and Satyam Singh), and his senior citizen parents (Lal Bahadur Singh Vishaarad and Sunayana Singh) — had initially sought Rs 1,00,00,000 in compensation, thereby asserting that the deceased was earning Rs 45,000 per month from his work as a Supervisor and in fabrication.
However since, again, as it was not supported with any evidence, the Tribunal assessed the deceased monthly notional income at Rs 15,000 due to the absence of key documentary proof like an appointment letter, attendance register, and wage register.
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Distribution of Compensation
The Tribunal thus have directed the compensation amount to be distributed among the claimants with portions mandated for fixed deposits to secure the future of the widow and children:
• Widow (Claimant No. 1) -Rs 9,78,500 with Rs 3,50,000 mandated for a 3-year fixed deposit.
• Children (Claimant Nos. 2, 3, 4): Rs 4,00,000 each, with Rs 2,00,000 from each share mandated for a 3-year fixed deposit.
• Parents (Claimant Nos. 5, 6): Rs 2,00,000 each.
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