Enhancing the compensation amount claimed by a widow, the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) here has held that claim can be entertained even if the proof for age or income of the victim is not available.
Tribunal Member and District Judge M H More on Thursday granted a compensation of Rs 2.02 lakh as against Rs 1.50 lakh claimed by a woman whose husband died in a road accident in 2002.
The victim, Bhunniram Yadav (58), an ice seller, who lived in a slum with his family, was fatally knocked down by a tempo here on April 9, 2002 when he was walking along the road with a bicycle loaded with ice blocks.
His wife Mayabai (48) and three children, one of them minor, through their counsel, told the court that Bhunniram earned an income of around Rs 4,000 per month and claimed an amount of Rs 1.5 lakh as compensation from the tempo owner, Chandan Ashoklal Nichlani and New India Assurance Company.
The tempo owner did not appear in the tribunal, while the insurance company contested the claim. The insurance firm claimed no document had been produced by the applicants to support the income of the deceased and his age.
The Judge said though no document regarding the income of the deceased had been provided, compensation can’t be denied. Provisions of minimum wages payable to a worker can be taken into account while calculating the compensation.
Citing a 2003 Supreme Court ruling which said there was no provision that compensation could be awarded only up to the amount claimed, the tribunal fixed the amount to be given to Bhunniram’s family at Rs 2.02 lakh.
