6 years on, tribunal awards Rs 25 lakh compensation to accident victim's kin

Thane, Nov 25 (PTI) The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) in Thane has awarded a compensation of Rs 25 lakh to the family of a man who died after being hit by a container truck in 2019.

MACT member Rupali V Mohite, in the order on November 20, directed the truck's insurance company to pay the compensation initially, but granted the insurer the right to recover the full amount from the vehicle owner, citing a proven breach of policy conditions.

A copy of the order was made available on Monday.

The victim, Md Muslim Shabbir Shaikh (then aged 34), who worked in a private company, was walking along the Mahape-Shilfata Road in Maharashtra's Thane district on June 11, 2019, when a container truck allegedly speeding at a "high and uncontrollable" pace hit him from behind.

He suffered severe crush injuries and died six days later. His parents and two unmarried sisters, natives of Gonda in Uttar Pradesh, filed a claim seeking Rs 15 lakh.

The tribunal held the incident occurred due to the rash and negligent driving of the truck driver, who had the "last opportunity to avoid the accident" but failed to control the vehicle.

While the driver's licence and the truck's fitness certificate were valid, the police established that the vehicle was operating in Maharashtra without a valid national permit. An RTO Ajmer report confirmed the truck's earlier permit was cancelled in 2015 and was valid only within Rajasthan.

Quoting legal precedents, the tribunal observed that insurers must first satisfy awards in favour of third parties and may later recover the amount from the vehicle owner if a breach of policy terms is proven.

The tribunal awarded the compensation of Rs 25,03,900 along with 9 per cent annual interest from August 7, 2019.

It ordered payments of Rs 6 lakh to the victim's father, Rs 9,03,900 to the mother, and Rs 5 lakh each to the two sisters. PTI COR GK