The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) in Thane has directed an insurance company and the vehicle owner to pay ₹40.08 lakh as compensation to the family of a 38-year-old plumber who died after being hit by a speeding car along the Mumbai-Nashik Highway in 2018.
The order was passed on November 28 by Extra Joint District Judge and Additional Sessions Judge KP Shrikhande, presiding over MACT Thane, and made public on Saturday.
The deceased, Daulat Waman Davane, was standing along the service road on November 17, 2018, when he was struck by the car. Shahapur police had registered a case under the IPC and Motor Vehicles Act.
The tribunal accepted the testimony of Davane’s wife, petitioner Darshana Davane, supported by the FIR, spot panchnama and post-mortem report. The court noted that her version of events had not been challenged effectively during cross-examination.
Rejecting the insurer’s argument that the accident was caused due to the deceased’s negligence, the tribunal observed that the evidence clearly established the accident arose out of the use of the offending vehicle.
The MACT also dismissed the insurance company’s claim that the driver did not possess a valid licence and that this amounted to breach of policy.
Davane was accepted to be earning ₹10,000 per month as a plumber and an additional ₹10,000 through a tent business. Calculating loss of dependency on this basis and adding 20 percent enhancement, the tribunal assessed the figure at ₹37.80 lakh, along with other admissible components.
“The petitioners are entitled to the compensation amount of ₹40,08,000 along with interest at 9 percent per annum from the date of the filing of the petition,” the tribunal stated.
The award brings closure to the family’s claim nearly seven years after the accident.
