Maharashtra: Tribunal directs compenesation of Rs 1.49 cr to wife and children of road accident victim

The Thane Motor Accident Claims Tribunal has ordered that a compensation of Rs 1.49 crore be paid to a 39-year-old woman and her two children after her husband was killed in an accident involving his car and a private bus on Pune-Mumbai Expressway in May 2018.

MACT member Wali Mohammed directed Neeta Tours and Travels and insurer The New India Assurance Co. Ltd. to make the payment to the claimants along with an interest of 7 per cent per annum from the date of filing of the petition within two months.

The order was passed on June 6 and its copy was made available on Wednesday.

The tribunal also directed the insurer to first make the payment of the compensation and then it is at liberty to recover the amount from the owner of the vehicle.

The claimants- Shubhra Shrivastava and her children- are residents of Hinjewadi in Pune.

RC Yadav, the counsel for the claimants, informed the tribunal that the deceased Saurabh Shrivastava (then aged 35) was working as Deputy Manager, Integrated Access Lead (IANI) with Reliance Jio Infocom Ltd.

On May 21, 2018, a private bus rammed into his car from behind on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway. Shrivastava, who was at the wheel, suffered serious injuries and was rushed to a hospital at Kamothe in Navi Mumbai where doctors declared him brought dead.

As the owner of the bus was not present, the tribunal passed the order ex-parte.

The insurer was represented by advocate PB Nair who argued that the claim amount was exorbitant and the claim is not maintainable.

“The opinion in the postmortem report is sufficient to believe the culmination of death of the deceased in a vehicular accident,” the order stated.