Rs 65.01 lakh awarded to family of deceased IT employee

Nearly three years after an IT employee was killed when a speeding lorry hit him, his family finally got due justice with the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal today directing the insurance firm and lorry-owner to pay a compensation of just above Rs 65.01 lakh to them.
Acting on a petition by G Subashini, wife of R S Venkatesh, her minor son and her parents, Chief Judge of Small Causes Court B Gokuldas directed the insurance firm and lorry- owner to pay the compensation of Rs 65,01,975 to the family.
"The oral and documentary evidence clearly shows that the cause for the accident is the negligent and rash driving of the lorry driver. Hence, the lorry-owner and the insurance company are liable to pay compensation of Rs 65,01,975 to the family members of the software engineer who was crushed to death in a road accident caused by a speeding lorry", he said.

The petitioners submitted that Venkatesh, a computer engineer, who was formerly in the Indian Air Force, was returning home on a bike on November 9, 2011 at 1.45 AM when a lorry driven in a reckless manner ran over him. He succumbed to grievous injuries at the spot.
They said he was receiving Rs 11,643 as pension from IAF and Rs 43,448 as salary from the IT firm. The family was dependent on his income, they said and sought a compensation of Rs one crore from the lorry-owner and Reliance General Insurance Company Limited, insurer of the vehicle.
The lorry-owner failed to respond to the notices served by the court. The insurance firm contended that averments made in the petition were false.

The judge directed that the amount be paid within two months from date of receipt of the order, with a 7.5 per cent interest rate annually from Jan 4 2012.
He directed that Rs 30,01,975 be given to the wife, Rs 25 lakh to the minor son and Rs five lakh each to the parents.