The Thane Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) has awarded a compensation of Rs 30.79 lakh to the family of a police constable who died in a road accident.
MACT member and district judge K D Vadane held that the offending tempo's owner was liable to make the payment along with an eight per cent interest from the date of filing the claim in February 2016.
The judge absolved the insurance company of any liability.
The claimants told the tribunal that Naresh Pawar (then aged 23), a resident of Poshere village in Mokhada taluka, served as a constable in the Thane rural police force and earned a salary of Rs 19,000 per month.
On June 14, 2015 while he was on duty, he arrested a tempo driver and was proceeding in that vehicle towards the police station.
The driver drove the tempo at a high speed and in a rash and negligent manner. When the three-wheeler reached Manor-Vikramgadh road, it collided with a bus, they said.
The constable suffered severe injuries in the accident and died on the spot, said the claimants - the deceased's 48-year-old mother and two younger brothers.
The judge observed that the constable had a permanent job and was below 40 years of age. Therefore, 50 per cent amount was required to be added (as additional compensation) to his income figure towards his future prospects, as per court guidelines.
The tempo's insurer - the Oriental Insurance Company Limited - said the constable was travelling in the vehicle as a "gratuitous passenger", and that no extra premium was paid for covering the risk of the deceased.
Therefore, it was not responsible to pay any compensation, the insurance firm said.
Noting the argument, the tribunal absolved the insurance company of the liability to pay compensation.
However, the tempo owner was responsible to pay the compensation, the judge observed in his order last week and asked him to pay Rs 30.79 lakh to the claimants.
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