Kin of private firm executive gets Rs 74.76 L as compensation

Family members of a private firm executive, who was killed when the car in which he was travelling rammed into a tree due to driver's mistake in Punjab in 2009, has been awarded a compensation of over Rs 74 lakh by a motor accident claims tribunal (MACT) here.
MACT Judge S C Malik directed Reliance General Insurance Company Ltd, with which the car was insured, to pay a compensation of Rs 74,76,027 to the kin of 30-year-old Mohan Singh Bisht, who was employed with Tata Communications Ltd and had died in a road accident in August 2009 due to rash driving.

The tribunal, while awarding the compensation, relied on the testimony of an eye-witness who had said that the accident had taken place due to rash and negligent driving of Harish Kumar.
"As such in view of testimonies of the petitioner number one (Bisht's wife) and Shingara Singh, an eye-witness of the accident, certified copies of criminal record produced, no doubt is left in respect of the deceased having suffered fatal injuries in road traffic accident on August 17, 2009 due to rash and negligent driving ...By driver of offending vehicle," the judge said.
According to the family members of Bisht, on August 17, 2009, he was travelling in a car driven by Kumar and was going from Kotakpura to Bhatinda.

They said that the car was driven in a rash and negligent manner by Kumar and when it reached near village Lambwali in Punjab, suddenly he lost control and the car went off the road and struck against a tree resulting in serious injuries to the driver and fatal injuries to Bisht.
The driver and owner of the offending car had filed their written statements contesting the petition and the insurance firm had said that material allegations made in the plea were false.
The tribunal, however, dismissed their arguments saying, "the contention of counsel for insurance company that the accident in this case had taken place without the negligence of anyone and therefore, the petitioners are not entitled to any compensation, simply does not hold water.