Road accident: Kin of victim get over Rs 23 lakh compensation

Family members of a 37-year-old man, who died in a road accident involving a rashly driven Punjab Roadways bus, have been awarded compensation of over Rs 23 lakh by a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) here.
The tribunal directed the Punjab Roadways to pay Rs 23,52,232 as compensation to the wife, parents and four children of Naresh Kumar Sharma who died in an accident in October 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 (IPC).

"Therefore, after considering all the documents filed by the petitioners as a whole it is clear that respondent no 1 (driver) was driving the vehicle in a rash and negligent manner," MACT Presiding Officer Sanjeev Kumar Singh said.
According to the petition, on October 3, 2013, Naresh was coming to Delhi from Tronica City, Ghaziabad for official work on a motorcycle.
When he reached near Wazirabad Flyover at Outer Ring Road here a bus driven in a rash and negligent manner hit his motorcycle. Due to the impact, he fell down and suffered fatal injuries.

The plea had submitted that Naresh was employed in a private company here and his family claimed compensation of Rs 30 lakh.

During the trial, the driver and owner of the bus had claimed that they did not cause the accident and were falsely implicated.
The court, however, rejected their contentions, terming them contradictory.