Six years on, Thane MACT awards Rs 38 lakh to mother for son’s death in 2020 road accident

The Thane Motor Accident Claims Tribunal MACT has awarded Rs 3813 lakh in compensation to the mother of a railway employee who died in a road accident in 2020 holding that the crash was caused by the negligence of a juvenile motorbike riderIn its order passed on Saturday MACT member R V Mohite rejected claims that the deceased was responsible for the accident and directed the offending vehiclersquos insurer to pay the compensation initiallyRailway employee died in 2020 accidentAccording to the petition Dhiraj Sharad Pawar then 25 was working as a Khalashi at the Central Railway Loco Workshop in Mumbai when the accident occurred on June 8 2020Pawar was riding his motorcycle towards Nalasopara Railway Station in neighbouring Palghar district and was travelling at a moderate speed according to the petitionAnother motorcycle allegedly approached from behind at excessive speed and rammed into Pawarrsquos vehicle He suffered serious injuries and was taken to the Public Health Centre in Nalasopara where he was declared deadPolice later identified juvenile riderTulinj police initially registered a case against an unidentified rider During the investigation police identified the rider of the motorcycle involved in the crash as a juvenileThe minor subsequently pleaded guilty before the Juvenile Justice Board in Bhiwandi in January 2021 and was fined Rs 5000Pawarrsquos mother later approached the MACT seeking compensation for her sonrsquos death The owner of the offending vehicle did not appear during the proceedings following which the tribunal proceeded against him ex parteInsurer raised objectionsThe vehiclersquos insurer appeared before the tribunal and argued that the case was a ldquohit and runrdquo incident It also contended that the motorcycle was being ridden by a minor who did not possess a valid driving licence amounting to a breach of the insurance policy conditionsThe tribunal however held the insurer liable to pay the compensation amount to the claimant firstInsurer can recover amount from ownerThe tribunal assessed Pawarrsquos monthly net income at Rs 24712 and awarded his mother Rs 3813 lakh along with interest at 9 per cent per annum from the date of filing of the compensation petitionThe insurer was directed to deposit the amount into the MACT bank account within one monthThe tribunal also ruled that the insurer could subsequently recover the compensation from the vehicle owner because the motorcycle was being ridden by an unlicensed minor which amounted to a breach of the policy conditionsOf the compensation Rs 9 lakh was ordered to be kept in a fixed deposit in the claimantrsquos name with a nationalised bank for three years The remaining amount is to be transferred directly to her bank accountWith inputs from PTI