Thane, Jul 22 The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) in Thane district has awarded a total compensation of Rs 34.66 lakh to the families of two young men, both friends, who died in a road crash involving two motorcycles in Shahapur town in July 2020.
In two separate orders delivered on July 20, copies of which were received on Tuesday, MACT Chairman and Principal District Judge R D Sawant directed the owner of the offending motorcycle, Sonali Zende, and its insurer, Reliance General Insurance Company Ltd, to jointly pay the awarded amount with 7 per cent annual interest from the date of petition filing until realization.
The proceedings were conducted in the presence of advocate Yeshwant Duduskar, who represented the claimants in both petitions, while advocate KS Kamble appeared for the private insurance firm.
The motorcycle rider, Nilesh Gholap, and the vehicle owner (Zende) failed to appear before the tribunal despite notice, and the cases proceeded ex-parte against them.
The fatal crash occurred on July 10, 2020, near Kalamgaon village on the Mumbai-Nasik Highway in Shahapur town of Thane district. One Sumit Suresh Bhoir (25) was riding a motorcycle with his friend Kalpesh Pratap Godade (24) on the pillion when another motorcycle coming from behind (driven by Gholap) at high speed crashed into them.
Both fell onto the road with force and suffered grave injuries. Bhoir succumbed to injuries at the Sub-District Hospital in Shahapur, while Godade died due to severe head trauma on July 12, 2020, at Sion Hospital in adjoining Mumbai.
In the case filed by Bhoir's parents, Judge Sawant awarded a sum of Rs 18,84,400, while in the petition submitted by his friend's parents, the tribunal ordered a compensation of Rs 15,82,000 (total payout Rs 34,66,400).
Rejecting the insurance company's defence regarding non-examination of eyewitnesses and alleged breach of policy terms, Judge Sawant held that filing of the chargesheet against the offending rider (Gholap) was sufficient to establish negligence.
The MACT noted, "It is settled law that once a chargesheet has been filed and the rider has been held negligent, no further evidence is required to prove that the rider of the offending motorcycle was negligent. Even if the eyewitnesses are not examined, that will not be fatal to prove the death of the deceased due to negligence of the offending motorcycle."
The tribunal further said, "The rider of the offending motorcycle has not appeared in spite of issuing a notice. Moreover, the FIR and spot panchanama (inspection and observations) show that after the accident, rider of offending motorcycle fled away. Hence, an adverse inference can be drawn that the vehicular accident took place due to rash and negligent driving of rider of the offending motorcycle."
The MACT dismissed the claim petitions against the rider Gholap, while directing that upon deposit of the compensation by the motorbike owner and the insurer, 30 per cent of the awarded amounts be invested in fixed deposits in nationalised banks in the names of respective parents for five years, with the remaining sum disbursed directly.
