MSRTC asked to pay Rs 13.95 lakh compensation to kin of labourer killed in accident

Thane, Sep 1 (PTI) The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal here has directed the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) to pay a compensation of Rs 13.95 lakh to the family of a pedestrian killed after being hit by a bus in 2021.

Tribunal member R V Mohite rejected the MSRTC's contention that the 53-year-old deceased labourer was negligent, and held the bus driver solely responsible for the accident.

A copy of the order passed on August 26 was made available on Monday.

The claimants included the wife, four children and mother of the deceased - Shivaji Ganapati Irule.

They told the tribunal that on October 9, 2021, Irule was walking cautiously on the side of Ghodbunder Road near Gaimukh Naka in Thane when an MSRTC bus came at high speed with its left dicky door open.

The door struck Irule with force, causing him to collapse. He was rushed to a private medical facility and later to the Civil Hospital in Thane where he was declared dead before admission.

The Kasarwadavali police had registered a case against the bus driver under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Motor Vehicles Act.

Rejecting the MSRTC's contention that the deceased was negligent, the tribunal said, "The driver of offending bus appeared to be negligent to keep open the door of dicky. There is nothing on record to show any contributory act on the part of deceased in the said accident." "It was the responsibility of both driver and the conductor of the ST bus to see whether the door of dicky is locked or not," the tribunal said.

While the claimants asserted claimed Irule earned Rs 20,000 per month as a labourer, the tribunal found no reliable proof and fixed his notional income at Rs 13,000 per month.

"The claimants are entitled to get a compensation of Rs 13,95,400 towards pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages from the opponent," the tribunal said.

It directed the MSRTC to deposit within one month the compensation amount along with 9 per cent interest from the date of filing of the petition.

The deceased's wife and mother will receive Rs 4.97 lakh each, while the four children will get Rs 1 lakh each. A part of the compensation amount for the man's wife and mother will be kept in fixed deposits for three years, the tribunal ordered. PTI COR GK