Over Rs.1.5 crore compensation to road accident victim's kin

A court here has awarded over Rs.1.5 crore as compensation to family members of a computer professional, who died in a road accident.

Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) presiding officer Ajay Kumar Jain directed New India Assurance Company Ltd. to pay Rs.1,53,04,188 compensation to the wife, two children and mother of 39-year-old Nikhil Mehta who died in the accident April 22, 2011.

Mehta, resident of south Delhi was going to Himachal Pradesh in a car. The car hit an overloaded truck, which was wrongly parked in the middle of the road without any indicator or blinking spot light in a village in Punjab's SAS Nagar district.

Mehta received grievous injuries and was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.

The truck was insured with the New India Assurance Company Ltd.

"From overall facts and circumstances, it is clear the accident caused at around 4 a.m. when it was dark and the truck was found standing on the highway, this act itself is rash and negligent, thus the petitioner has been able to prove that the accident was caused due to rash and negligence act of respondent No.1 (truck driver)," the tribunal said.

The order was delivered last week but released Tuesday.