Kin of man killed in accident gets 19 Lakh

The family members of a man, who died in an accident involving a rashly driven DTC bus, have been awarded a compensation of over Rs 19 lakh by a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) here.
The tribunal directed the United India Insurance Company Ltd, with which the offending DTC bus was insured, to pay Rs 19,61,920 to the wife, three kids and parents of Balram, who had died in the accident in September last year.
"It is also settled law that the term rashness and negligence has to be construed lightly while making a decision on a petition for claim for the same as compared to the word rashness and negligence as finds mention in the Indian Penal Code.

"...Therefore, considering all the documents filed by the petitioners (Balram's family) as a whole it is clear that respondent no.1 (bus driver) was driving the vehicle in a rash and negligent manner," MACT Presiding Officer Sanjeev Kumar Singh said.
The family members of 39-year-old Balram, a resident of Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, told the tribunal that the accident took place on September 16, 2013 when he had boarded the DTC bus from the opposite side of Old Delhi Railway Station here.
Bus driver Tilak Raj, without caring if the passengers had boarded the bus or not, started the vehicle and tried to overtake a stationary bus and in that process Balram, who was standing on the foot board of the bus, got hit and sustained fatal injuries, his family members said.

Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) through its depot manager and the driver, in their written statements, denied the rash and negligent aspect and also termed the contents of the petition to be false one. They, however, did not lead any evidence in their defence.