Kanjhawala hit-and-run case: victim’s family granted 36 lakh compensation by Motor Accident Claims Tribunal in Delhi

In July 2023, seven accused people were charged with murder, criminal conspiracy, disappearance of evidence, harbouring offenders, and providing false information to public servants by a Delhi court. As of today, six of the seven are out on bail, and the case is at trial.

“…the rashness and negligence on the part of the driver of the offending vehicle, which is clearly visible and as such, was responsible not only for this accident, but also for everything that followed thereafter,” District Judge Vikram, who is also the presiding officer of the Tribunal in Rohini Courts, said in his order dated October 27.

“…(driver) was responsible for the death of the deceased due to his neglect and default in driving the offending vehicle at the relevant time. Therefore, the petitioners have become entitled to be compensated for the death of the deceased in the above accident,” he added.

While deciding the quantum of compensation for the dependents — Anjali’s mother, her two minor sisters, and a minor brother — the Tribunal looked at her age, her income at the time of death, and the number of dependents.

While treating Anjali as a worker in the “unskilled” category, the Tribunal noted that the minimum wages for such a person in Delhi were Rs. 16,792 per month. After deducting the monthly expenses from her monthly income, the Tribunal arrived at the monthly loss of dependency. This figure was then multiplied by 12.

Finally, the annual loss of dependency was multiplied by a suitable “multiplier”. An additional 40 per cent (considering the young age of the deceased) was added to this final figure under the tab “future prospects,” and the final count for loss of dependency was arrived at Rs. 33.85 lakh.

Along with this, 1.93 lakh were directed to be given under “loss of consortium”, which means “loss of love and affection”, and another Rs 90,000 were set aside for funeral expenses.

The seven men who are facing trial in the case are Manoj Mittal, Amit Khanna (driver), Krishan alias Kalu, Mithun alias Arjun, Deepak Khanna, Ankush Khanna, and Ashutosh Bhardwaj.

Anjali is survived by her mother and five siblings. She lost her father close to eight years before she passed away.