Thane MACT awards Rs 30.34 lakh compensation to kin of man killed in 2018 accident

Thane, Aug 29 (PTI) The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) in Maharashtra's Thane district has awarded a compensation of Rs 30.34 lakh to the family of a 44-year-old man killed in a car accident in 2018.

MACT member R V Mohite held both the car owner, Jayant Devidas Narkar, and the insurer, Tata AIG General Insurance Co. Ltd., jointly and severally liable to pay the compensation.

A copy of the order dated August 22 was made available on Thursday.

As per the case details, on November 17, 2018, the victim, Shriram Madan Patole, was waiting for a vehicle near Kinhavli Phata bridge on the Mumbai-Nashik Highway when a speeding car veered off the road and hit him and several others. Six people, including Patole, were killed in the accident.

The tribunal noted that the accident occurred due to the sole negligence of the car driver.

The car owner did not appear, and the matter was decided ex parte against him.

The driver could not control the speed of the car and dashed into people waiting on the side of a service road, before plunging into a nullah, the tribunal said.

The judge dismissed the insurer's claim of a breach of policy conditions, stating, "The insurance company has failed to prove that the driver of the offending vehicle was not holding a valid and effective driving licence at the time of the accident." The total compensation of Rs 30.34 lakh is to be paid to the deceased's wife and minor children with a 9 per cent interest per annum from the date the petition was filed, the tribunal stated. PTI COR ARU