The family of a man killed in a road accident has been awarded a whopping Rs 1.86 crore claim by the Thane District Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT).
Tribunal member and District Judge S Y Kulkarni in his order yesterday directed the offending vehicle's owner, Shailen Kumar Tiwari, and New India Assurance Company to pay the amount to the family of Imtiaz Usman Lambe (49), who died in a car accident in May 2008.
Lambe, a native of Mira Road area here, worked as senior shipping supervisor with a steel company in Qatar.
On May 26, 2008, when Lambe, his wife and mother were returning to Mira Road from Ratnagiri, their car rammed into a stationary vehicle near a bus stop on Ghodbunder Road.
The couple had gone to Ratnagiri to bring Lambe's ailing mother here for treatment.
In the mishap, Lambe and his 72-year-old mother died on the spot.
The claim for Lambe's mother was decided earlier by the tribunal.
Later, Lambe's widow Saira Lambe (47) and his two children Vasheen (22) and Sanobar (20) sought a compensation of Rs 2.38 crore for his death in the accident.
The claimants' advocate, Natha Jadhav, informed the tribunal that Imtiaz was earning Qatar Riyals 19,448 per month, which amounted to around Rs 2.16 lakhs.
The claimants also stated that the accident occurred due to sheer negligence and rash driving by the car driver.
They also informed the tribunal that the deceased had worked abroad for several years, including in Dubai and Qatar, and financially supported his family here.
The first respondent - the owner of the car involved in the accident - did not respond and thus the case was decided ex-parte against him.
The insurance company was represented by its lawyer, but the court rejected the arguments while observing that they miserably failed to prove their points.
Taking into consideration the prospective income of the deceased and other expenses, the court awarded his family a compensation of Rs 1.86 crore.
