Compensation for kin of man killed in mishap

Family members of a 37-year-old man, who died in a road accident after being hit by a rashly- driven truck, have been awarded a compensation of nearly Rs 12 lakh by a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) here.
MACT Presiding Officer Barkha Gupta directed Reliance General Insurance Company Ltd, insurer of the offending truck, to pay Rs 11,95,480 as compensation to the five family members of Ram Ashrey Singh, who died after being hit by the vehicle while crossing the road in 2011.
The tribunal, while deciding the petition in the victim's favour, relied on the testimony of the eyewitness saying there was nothing on record to disbelieve him.

It also relied on documents including detailed accidental report, FIR and post-mortem report of the victim.
"On perusal of the said documents, it is clearly shown on record that at the relevant date, time and place, victim was hit by the offending vehicle which was driven in a rash and negligent manner due to which he sustained injuries and expired," the presiding officer said.
According to the petition, on January 23, 2011, Singh, who was going to his residence in Ashok Vihar here, got hit by a rashly and negligently driven truck while he was crossing the road. Due to the impact, he died on the spot.

The family members had claimed Rs 35 lakh as compensation.

During the proceedings, the driver and the owner of the vehicle had denied the allegations and claimed the petition was false.
The insurance company too had contended that the driver did not have a valid driving licence at the time of the accident.
The tribunal though directed the insurance company to pay the compensation but said it can "very well recover the amount from driver and owner of the offending vehicle as per rules as per procedure established by law".