MACT awards Rs 17 L compensation to mother of victim killed in road accident

The mother of a 26-year-old man, who was killed in a road accident in Haryana in 2016, has been awarded a compensation of over Rs 17 lakh by a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) here.

MACT presiding officer M K Nagpal asked New India Insurance Company Ltd., insurer of the offending vehicle, to deposit Rs 17,50,000, along with an interest of 9 per cent within 30 days.

The court awarded the compensation to Rajbir, mother of Sandeep, who died in a road accident on August 17, 2016 in Rohtak district of Haryana.

As per the complaint, Sandeep was riding a motorcycle, along with his friend, when he was hit from behind by a Haryana Roadways bus of Gurgaon Depot, following which both of them fell on the road and were killed by the bus.

The court noted that the bus was driven in a rash and negligent manner and the bus driver fled from the accident spot after leaving the bus.

However, the owner of the bus alleged that the accident took place due to Sandeep's fault as he was trying to overtake the bus and fell on the road after hitting a pedestrian. It was also alleged that both the riders were not wearing helmets.

Out of the total compensation, the tribunal awarded over Rs 14 lakh towards loss of dependency and Rs 15,000 towards loss of estate and Rs 15,000 for funeral expenses incurred by the parents.

Both the mother and the father of Sandeep had claimed that they were his dependents at the time of his death, however, it was later found that Sandeep's father worked as a caretaker.

The court then held that the father of the deceased cannot be treated as a dependent of his deceased son.

"The entire awarded amount of Rs 17,50,000 is being given to the mother of the deceased," the court said.