New Delhi, Oct 31 A Delhi Motor Accident Claims Tribunal awarded over Rs 14.49 lakh, including interest, to the family of a truck driver who died in a 2018 road accident in Rajasthan, attributing the collision to the trailer driver's rash and negligent driving.
Presiding officer Vijay Kumar Jha was hearing a claim petition filed by the family of Puran Mal, the deceased truck driver.
In the October 28 order, the tribunal said, "It is held that the petitioners have proved, on the preponderance of probabilities, that the deceased, Puran Mal, suffered fatal injuries in the accident that occurred due to the rash and negligent driving of the offending vehicle, respondent number 1 (trailer driver)."
The tribunal awarded Rs 9.82 lakh in compensation, along with six per cent annual interest, to the family of the deceased driver. The tribunal held that the trailer driver's negligence had caused the accident and rejected the insurance company's claim that the deceased truck driver was also responsible for the collision.
According to the tribunal, Puran Mal was driving an Eicher Canter truck loaded with goods from Jaipur towards Delhi when it collided with the trailer near Saraswati College, Manoharpur Pulia, around 2 am on October 20. He sustained fatal injuries and died on the spot.
It observed that the insurance company had failed to produce evidence about the distance between the two vehicles, their speed, the width of the road or the condition of the trailer's tail-lights and brake-lights.
It also drew an adverse inference against the trailer driver for not entering the witness box and held that the deceased's contributory negligence had not been proved. The tribunal held that the insurance company was not liable to pay the compensation as the insurance policy produced for the trailer was found to be fake and forged.
It noted that the vehicle owner had failed to produce the original insurance policy, premium receipt or other evidence to establish that the vehicle was insured on the date of the accident.
The tribunal directed the trailer driver and its registered owner to pay the compensation jointly and severally, while exonerating the insurance company.
