New Delhi, May 29 A Delhi Motor Accident Claims Tribunal has awarded Rs 67 lakh in compensation to the family of a 45-year-old man who was killed in a road accident in Outer Delhi's Bawana area in 2021.
Presiding Officer Richa Manchanda was hearing the claim petition filed by the family of Prem Kumar Jha, who died after being hit by a motorcycle.
In an order dated May 23, the tribunal said, "Claimants were able to prove the issue of accident being caused due to rash and negligent driving of said vehicle by said driver on the basis of preponderance of probabilities."
According to the tribunal, the accident took place on March 19, 2021, near Barwala canal in Bawana when the motorcycle driven by Radha Krishna Singh collided head-on with the victim's bike.
Jha suffered grievous injuries in the accident and succumbed during treatment on March 21, 2021.
The insurance company opposing the claim petition argued that no eyewitness was examined by the petitioners to prove rash and negligent driving.
The tribunal, however, relied upon the criminal case record, including the chargesheet filed against the driver under IPC sections 279 and 304A, and the statement of eyewitness Dharmender Kumar, who was riding pillion on the offending motorcycle.
Kumar told police that he repeatedly asked the driver to slow down, but he continued driving rashly before ramming into the victim's motorcycle.
Rejecting the defence put forward by the driver that a cloud of dust caused the collision, the tribunal termed it a "new story" beyond pleadings.
"It is held that the petitioners have been able to prove on the basis of preponderance of probabilities that deceased Prem Kumar Jha had sustained fatal injuries in a road accident... due to rashness and negligence on the part of driver Radha Krishan Singh," the tribunal said.
IT noted that the deceased was earning Rs 4.96 lakh annually from business income as reflected in his income tax returns filed shortly before the accident.
The tribunal directed the insurance company to pay a total of Rs 67.20 lakh, with 7.5 per cent annual interest, to the wife, two children, and the mother of the deceased.
