The family of a 73-year-old man, who died in a road accident involving a rashly-driven mini bus, has been awarded a compensation of over...

The family of a 73-year-old man, who died in a road accident involving a rashly-driven minibus, has been awarded a compensation of over Rs 23 lakh by a claims tribunal here. Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) presiding officer Hemani Malhotra directed National Insurance Company Ltd, the insurer of the vehicle, to pay Rs 23,13,000 to the wife and three daughters of Ram Avtar Sikka, who was hit by the speeding vehicle in 2015 when he was crossing the road in west Delhi. The tribunal, while deciding the petition in the victim's favor, relied on the relevant documents placed on record including the FIR, charge sheet, post-mortem report of the victim and statement of an eyewitness of the accident. The tribunal also noted that the driver of the offending bus did not cross-examine the eyewitness or lead any evidence in his defence.

"Since, respondent/driver of the offending vehicle chose not to cross-examine the eyewitness and did not lead any evidence qua his non-involvement in the accident, taking into consideration the unimpeached testimony the witness, it is established that the respondent was rash and negligent while driving the offending vehicle," the tribunal said. According to the petition, on December 16, 2015, Sikka was waiting to cross Pankha road in west Delhi when suddenly the RTV bus came at a high speed and hit him. He sustained grievous injuries and was immediately taken to a nearby hospital but he succumbed to his injuries during treatment, it said.