MACT awards Rs 57 lakh to kin of accident victim

A Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) has awarded over Rs 57 lakh to the kin of a 44-year-old man who was killed in a road accident in 2016.

MACT presiding officer Paramjit Singh asked Shriram General Insurance Company Limited, the insurer of the offending vehicle, to pay Rs 57,27,000, at an interest rate of 9 per cent annually, to the family of south-west Delhi resident Neeraj Sharma.

"It is evident that the deceased, Neeraj Sharma, suffered fatal injuries and died in a motor vehicle accident due to rash or negligent driving of vehicle, which was being driven and owned by Rajiv and insured with Shriram General Insurance Company Ltd at the time of accident," the court said.

On October 11, 2016, an auto rickshaw hit Sharma's scooty from behind, according to the complaint lodged by his kin.

He suffered fatal injuries in the accident and was taken to a hospital where he died during treatment.

The witness in the case claimed that the auto-rickshaw was at a high speed and being driven in a rash and negligent manner, leading to the accident.

The auto-rickshaw driver, who had fled the spot, claimed he was falsely implicated in the case.

He also claimed that the petitioners had suppressed facts and the accident did not take place in the manner as stated by them, and that he was driving the vehicle in a normal manner.

The tribunal, while awarding the compensation, noted that the victim was the sole earning member of his family comprising his mother, father, wife, daughter and son.

The court also took note of the fact that Sharma was doing a private business and was earning Rs 12 lakh per annum at the time of the accident and awarded the compensation accordingly.