A Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) in Delhi has awarded a compensation of ₹56.33 lakh to the family of a 29-year-old man, Dileep Kumar, who lost his life in a road accident in Noida in 2019. The tribunal held that the accident occurred due to the rash and negligent driving of a truck that caused Kumar’s car to crash into it from behind.
Presiding Officer Vikram passed the order on January 12, 2026, in a claim petition filed by Kumar’s wife, two children, and elderly parents. The incident took place on January 15, 2019, near the Birawar Turn on Kasganj Road, when a truck overtook the car in which Kumar was travelling with a friend and abruptly applied brakes, leading to a rear-end collision. Kumar was rushed to the Community Health Centre in Sikandra Rao, where he was declared brought dead.
During the proceedings, the truck’s driver and owner admitted to the occurrence of the accident. While the insurance company, HDFC ERGO General Insurance Co Ltd, argued that the crash was caused by Kumar’s negligence as the car hit the truck from behind, the tribunal rejected this claim. It observed that the burden was on the truck driver to rebut the allegations and explain how the accident was not his fault. His failure to do so led the tribunal to draw an adverse inference against him.
“All the claimants were dependent on the deceased,” the tribunal noted while calculating compensation. Out of the total ₹56.33 lakh awarded, ₹53.55 lakh was granted under the head of loss of dependency.
As the offending truck was insured at the time of the accident and no statutory defence was proved, the tribunal directed HDFC ERGO General Insurance Co Ltd to pay the entire compensation amount to the deceased’s family.
