New Delhi, Oct 14 A Delhi Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) has awarded Rs 8.49 lakh compensation to a woman injured in a 2021 road accident, taking her monthly income as Rs 30,000 as a homemaker, though her claim of earning Rs 18,000 as a tailor was not proved.
Presiding Officer Manish Khurana directed United India General Insurance Co Ltd, insurer of the offending vehicle, to deposit the amount within 30 days. Failing that, it will attract nine per cent annual interest.
In an order dated October 12, the tribunal said, "It stands proved that the accident in question occurred due to rash and negligent driving of the offending vehicle by the respondent no. 1 (car driver), and the petitioner suffered injuries in the said accident."
The petitioner, then 33, was travelling with her husband and son on a motorcycle driven by her husband near Bawana on January 18, 2021 when a Mahindra Thar allegedly hit them at high speed. All three suffered grievous injuries.
The Thar's driver-cum-owner, Amit Kumar, was charge-sheeted under IPC Sections 279, 337 and 338. The tribunal held that the accident was caused by his rash and negligent driving, noting that he neither cross-examined the woman nor led any evidence.
Relying on a Supreme Court judgment of June 11 this year in Shishupal alias Shish Ram vs Surjeet, the tribunal fixed the income of a homemaker at Rs 30,000 per month for calculating compensation.
The apex court had ruled that the loss of a homemaker's domestic care must be monetised at a minimum notional income of Rs 30,000 per month in motor vehicle accident compensation cases.
A medical board assessed her permanent disability at six per cent in the left lower limb.
Considering all the facts, the tribunal awarded Rs 8.49 lakh compensation to the victim under various heads.
