Tribunal awards over 50 lakh to kin of men killed in road accident

New Delhi: A Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) has awarded over Rs 50 lakh to the families of three men who were mowed down by a car in New Delhi in 2016.

MACT presiding officer M K Nagpal asked Reliance General Insurance Co. Ltd, insurer of the offending vehicle to pay a total of Rs 53,14,000 as compensation to the families of the deceased. 

"The Insurance Company being insurer of the offending car is directed to deposit the award amount with UCO Bank, Patiala House Court Branch, in name of the petitioners within 30 days from today," the tribunal said. 

The compensation was awarded to the families of Kallu, Noor Alam and Wajid, who were killed in an accident on April 15, 2016 on Delhi Cantonment flyover in New Delhi. 

According to the complaint filed by the families of the deceased, all the three killed were working on a sugarcane juice cart which was hit from behind by a rash and negligently driven car. 

All three were taken to a nearby hospital where Kallu and Noor Alam were declared brought dead, whereas the third injured, Wajid, succumbed to his injuries later. 

The court while awarding the compensation took into consideration the fact that all the three were earning members of their families. 

However, in the absence of any definite and conclusive proof regarding earnings of the deceased at the relevant time of accident, the tribunal calculated their earnings as per the minimum wages applicable for unskilled workers in Delhi at the time of accident. 

The court awarded a compensation of Rs 17,79,000 to the parents of Kallu and a sum of Rs 17,56,000 to the parents of Wajid and Rs 17,79,000 to the parents as well as five siblings of Noor Alam. 

The insurance company claimed that the accused was driving the car under the influence of alcohol but failed to produce any evidence on record to prove the same.