MACT awards Rs 44.51 L compensation to accident victim's kin

The Thane Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) has awarded a compensation of Rs 44.51 lakh to the kin of a man who was killed in a road accident in 2012.
MACT member and district judge K D Vadane, in a recent judgment, noted contributory negligence on the part of the accident victim and ordered that the wife and son of Nitin Madhav Khisti be paid a reduced compensation of Rs 44.51 lakh.
The claimants in this case were Vidya Nitin Khisti (56) and her son Ahlad Nitin Khisti (31), residents of Charai area of Thane city.
In their complaint, the claimants told the MACT that Nitin Madhav Khisti, who worked as a project manager with a private company, was heading towards Cadbury Junction from Ambedkar Road on November 26, 2012.

Khisti's motorcycle was hit by a Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) bus coming from Old Mumbai-Agra Road near Khopat signal, in which he sustained injuries and died, they said.
Stating that the accident was caused by rash and negligent driving of the MSRTC bus driver, the deceased's kin demanded a compensation amount of Rs 75,00,000.

MSRTC contested the claim and alleged that the mishap occurred due to negligence on part of the deceased.
The judge, after perusing the FIR lodged in the case, noted that in the absence of proper traffic signal, the bus and other vehicles coming from Naupada side towards Cadbury Junction were not noticed by the motorcycle-borne man.

However, the judge said the MSRTC bus was also being driven rashly.
Noting that there was contributory negligence on the part of the victim, the judge said that his family members are entitled to a reduced compensation out of the total worked out sum of Rs 59.35 lakh.
He ordered that the MSRTC should bear 75 per cent of the compensation amount, which stood at Rs 44.15 lakh, while the remaining 25 per cent amount has to be forgone by the deceased's family.
The judge, who was asked by the claimants to award a compensation of Rs 91,30,664 considering Khisti's age, profession and salary at the time of the incident, arrived at the compensation amount of Rs 44.15 lakh on the basis of the deposition of the manager of the bank where his salary would get credited, besides his company's Human Resources (HR) personnel.

Of the total payable compensation, Rs 15 lakh should be deposited in a fixed deposit (FD) in the name of the victim's wife and Rs 5 lakh in an FD in his son's name, the judge said, adding the claimants should also be paid interest at 8 per cent per annum on the amount.