Family members of a 32-year-old man, who died after being hit by a rashly driven tractor on his way to Haridwar, have been awarded a compensation of nearly Rs 40 lakhs by a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) here.
The tribunal directed National Insurance Company Ltd, with which the offending tractor was insured, to pay Rs 39,08,400 to the wife, minor son and mother of victim Hemant Bhatia.
"It is thus established that Hemant Bhatia died due to the injuries sustained in the accident due to rash and negligent driving of the tractor by the respondent no. 1 (driver Sompal Singh).
"It is admitted position on record that the tractor was owned by respondent on.2 (Mukesh Kumar) and it was insured with respondent no.3 (National Insurance Co. Ltd)," MACT Presiding Officer Sanjiv Jain said.
Seeking compensation, Bhatia's wife, resident of Lodhi Colony here, had told the tribunal that her husband, along with his friends, was going to Haridwar in his car on December 19, 2011 when the accident took place with a rashly driven tractor.
Bhatia was sitting in the front seat of the car and when they reached Jwalapur at around 1 AM, the tractor suddenly came from the front at a high speed. It was being rashly and negligently driven by Sompal Singh, she had said, adding that it hit the car.
Due to the impact, Bhatia died on the spot while his friends Ajay Makan and Ravi Baliyan had sustained injuries and they were taken to a government hospital in Haridwar.
Bhatia was running a business and was earning Rs 30,000 per month.
The driver and owner of the tractor had claimed the accident did not take place due to their negligence and, instead, blamed the victims for driving the car in a rash manner and in the wrong lane.
