Thane:
Thane District Motor Accident Claims Tribunal has awarded Rs 4.86 lakhs compensation to the family of a man, who was killed in a road accident in 1993.
Jairam Bangal, (then around 27 years of age), a resident of Murbad town in Thane, died on May 2, 1993, when a tempo in which he was travelling from Saralgaon to Murbad along with other passengers rammed into a tree.
The family members, in their claim application, stated that Bangal was earning Rs 5,000 per month and due to his death, they suffered financial and emotional loss.
They, therefore, lodged a claim against the owner of the tempo, Ashok Mahadeo Shinde, and the insurance company with which the tempo was insured.
The vehicle owner did not turn up and the case was decided ex-parte against him.
However, the insurance company submitted that the tempo involved was a goods carrier and the company was not required to cover the risk of passengers travelling in it.
Tribunal member and adhoc district Judge M H More in her order last week stated that the driver of the vehicle drove it in a rash and negligent manner in high speed and thereby caused death of the deceased.
But at the same time, the vehicle was a goods carrier and the deceased was travelling in it as a passenger, in contravention of the provisions of MV Act. Therefore, the insurance company is not liable to pay the compensation to the applicant as per law.
However, placing reliance on a case in Bombay High Court and applying the same principle in present case, the tribunal directed the Oriental Insurance Company to pay the compensation and recover the same from the vehicle owner.
The claimants included Bangal's wife, two children and his parents.