Tribunal awards Rs 2.46 lakh compensation for disabled teacher

Nearly eight years after a 48-year-old school teacher from Sahapur taluka was rendered disabled by an accident on his way to Mumbai, a Motor Accident Claim Tribunal here awarded him a compensation of Rs 2.46 lakhs.
The mishap took place on October 10, 2005 when applicant Tarachand Narhar Gawali was travelling along with his family and relatives in a tempo from Nashik to Mumbai and was hit by a speeding truck from the opposite direction near the Nandgaon by-pass, the court was told.
Two occupants of the tempo lost their lives and Gawli along with few others sustained serious injuries. He was initially treated at the Rural Hospital at Igatpuri and later shifted to the Suyash Hospital in Nashik.

Gawli had made a claim of Rs 1,00,000 from the owners of both the vehicles and their insurance companies.
But the court of M H More of Kalyan MACT recently held only the truck driver and his insurance company liable to pay the compensation and an interest at the rate of 9 per cent from the date of application i.E 2005 and relieved the other from the claim.
The court held that even though the driver of the truck did not renew his licence and the RTO had not disqualified him, the Insurance company and owner of the vehicle were jointly responsible for paying the claim amount.

The claimant told the court that the truck was owned by Bhagirath Jethram of Bikaner district in Rajasthan and the truck was insured with New India Assurance Company while the tempo was owned by one Pandurang Madhukar Chaudhary and it was insured with United India Insurance Company.
The court held that the 'panchnama' and FIR clearly shows that the truck driver came from the wrong side and dashed the tempo and the accident occurred due to rash and negligent driving.
S C Bodulla, appearing for the applicant, contested the defence of the Insurance company which stated that it was not not liable to pay the compensation as the driver of the truck did not hold a valid driving licence.