A Motor Accident Claims Tribunal here has dismissed the plea of an insurance company to reject a compensation claim by the widow of a bus driver, on the ground that the accident had taken place at a private place, and granted her a relief of ₹22.75 lakh.
ESI Act
The accident had taken place inside the Millennium Bus Depot premises in east Delhi in which a bus had run over a driver who was standing in front of a CNG filling station in 2014.
“The accident which took place in the present case would be at a public place as the said place was a large bus depot where buses moved freely, exposing a large number of human beings to danger,” said Presiding Officer Rajeev Bansal at the Saket district courts, rejecting the plea of the insurance company.
Counsel for the insurance company also opposed the compensation claim, arguing that the family of the victim could not claim a compensation as the deceased was a beneficiary under the ESI Act, and in such circumstances no compensation could be claimed from any other person under the Workmen Compensation Act or any other law.
‘Bereft of merit’
However, the Judge dismissed this objection as well, stating that the objection was bereft of merit. The victim’s family had demanded a compensation of ₹50 lakh for his untimely death.
Bus inspected
However, the Tribunal fixed it at ₹22.75, relying on the FIR (filed for offences of rash and negligent driving and causing death by negligence), charge sheet filed by the police in the case, post mortem report of the victim, mechanical inspection report of the bus and other documents. The owner of the vehicle, in his evidence, had said that his bus was involved in the accident.
