Tribunal orders MSRTC to pay Rs 13.6 lakh compensation to parents of teen killed in road accident

MSRTC buses. Representational pic. File pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

In a recent order passed by a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) in Thane, Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) has been ordered to pay a compensation of Rs 13.6 lakh to parents of an 18-year old. The teen who was a brick kiln worker was killed in a road accident four years ago, news wire PTI reported.

Advocate Satish Tiwari, who represented the parents of the victim Sachin Suresh Waghe, told the tribunal that the teenager was riding pillion on a two-wheeler when an MSRTC bus hit the vehicle on the Mumbai-Goa Highway and killed him on January 20, 2019.

Also Read: Maharashtra: One dead, 22 injured after MSRTC bus driver looses control on highway

The order was passed by S B Agrawal, chairman of Thane MACT on January 10 of which copy was recently made available, PTI report said.

A petition was filed by victim's parents under section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, seeking compensation for the loss of their son.

After examining police reports and witness testimonies, the MACT chairman found the respondent, MSRTC was liable for the accident due to the bus driver's negligence.

The tribunal awarded Rs 13.6 lakh to the petitioners, which included conventional compensation for loss of estate, funeral expenses, and loss of filial consortium. The petitioners were granted interest of 7.5 per cent per annum on the awarded amount.

The tribunal directed that a portion of the compensation be kept in fixed deposits for the petitioners, while the rest would be disbursed through account payee cheques.

In another case, the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Thane had ordered MSRTC to pay compensation of Rs 4.1 lakh to a postal employee who suffered 35 per cent disability following a road accident five years ago. The order passed in June 2023, also told MSRTC to to pay 7 per cent interest per annum on the compensation amount to the claimant.

In the case, in April 2018, a Thakurli resident Pratik Ashok Kanade, working with the postal department and drawing a monthly salary of Rs 59,486 at the time, was was riding a pillion on a motorbike when the two-wheeler collided head-on with an MSRTC bus.

In case of failure to release the money in the given time frame, MSRTC was told to pay interest at 8 per cent per annum till the realisation of the compensation amount.

(With PTI inputs)