A Delhi court has awarded over Rs 17 lakh compensation to the family members of a 47-year-old man who had died in a road accident here in 2007 after his motorcycle was hit by a rashly driven car.
The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, presided by S C Malik, asked ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Ltd, which had insured the car, and the vehicle's owner and driver to pay Rs 17.48 lakh to the family members of Ghaziabad resident Rajinder Prasad.
Prasad, who was working in the customs department at IGI Airport, died after the accident.
The tribunal held the insurance company and owner and the driver of the offending vehicle "jointly and severally" liable to make the payment.
"No doubt is left in respect of the deceased having suffered fatal injuries in road traffic accident on June 5, 2007 due to rash and negligent driving of the vehicle...By respondent No 2/driver of the offending vehicle," the court said, after going through the case records.
In its order, however, the court added that no amount of money could compensate the loss of a person's life.
It noted that Prasad had left behind his wife, an old aged father, one son and three daughters.
"No amount of money can wipe the tears, the trauma of the petitioners and the feeling that petitioners must be feeling each day having lost their husband and father. The trauma is for the lifetime," the court said.
According to Prasad's family members, on June 5, 2007, he was going from ITO to his house in Ghaziabad via ring road and when he reached near the Shanti Van red light signal, a car driven in rash and negligent manner by Vishnu Parkash Bansal hit his motorcycle from behind.
Prasad fell down on the road, received injuries and died later.
The family members of the deceased had approached the court seeking compensation of Rs 50 lakh.
In their written submission before the court, the driver and the owner of the car, however, had denied any kind of rashness and negligence.
The insurance firm, however, said that driver of offending car was not holding a driving licence, therefore, it was not liable to pay any compensation to the legal heirs of Prasad.
