Gurugram, Aug 5 The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) in Gurugram absolved an insurance company of liability to pay compensation after finding that the car driver did not possess a driving license at the time of road accident, police said on Wednesday.
The tribunal (MACT) ordered the car's owner and the driver to jointly pay Rs 21.30 lakh compensation, along with 9 per cent annual interest, to the victim's family, they added.
According to the police, on the evening of March 13, 2024, Deepak Tiwari (19) was riding his motorcycle from Naurangpur to Rampura, when a speeding car coming in the opposite direction collided with the two-wheeler near Mittal Farm House.
Deepak was critically injured and was first referred to a private hospital and subsequently to Safdarjung Hospital, Delhi, where he passed away during treatment on March 17, 2024.
An FIR was registered against the car driver, during which the police invoked section 3/181 of the Motor Vehicles Act, along with other relevant sections of the then Indian Penal Code.
The chargesheet also noted that the driver did not possess a valid driving license, police said.
After examining the records, police investigation, and witness statements, the tribunal concluded that the driver was operating the vehicle without a valid driving license.
The vehicle owner and the driver failed to present any evidence in court to refute this fact. Consequently, deeming this a clear violation of the insurance policy terms, the tribunal exempted the insurance company from paying compensation and placed the entire liability on the vehicle owner and the driver, police said.
The court of Presiding Officer Narendra Sura ordered that Brijbala, the mother of Deepak Tiwari, who lost his life in the accident, be awarded Rs 20.42 lakh, while his two sisters, Priya Tiwari and Mansi, are to receive Rs 44,000 each.
Brijbala is a native of Pulandar village in the Kanpur Dehat district of Uttar Pradesh. This amount is to be paid jointly by the vehicle owner, Himgiri Automobiles Private Limited and the driver, Chandrashekhar, a resident of Shivdaspur village in Varanasi, police said.
The court held that the absence of a valid driving license at the time of the accident constituted a violation of the insurance policy terms, adding that the insurance company could not be held liable for compensation.
According to the police, the hearing for the criminal case is currently at the prosecution evidence stage in the court of Judicial Magistrate Shridev Rai.
The next hearing has been scheduled for August 31, 2026.
