Family members of an MCD employee,who was crushed to death in a road accident by a rashly driven bus in 2006,have been awarded a compensation of over Rs 12 lakh by a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) here. MACT Presiding Officer Nirja Bhatia directed The New India Assurance Company Ltd,with which the offending bus was insured,to pay Rs 12.67 lakh to his wife,his three children and his mother. "I hereby award an amount of Rs 12,67,224 as compensation with interest at the rate of nine per cent per annum,from the date of filing the present petition,i.e.,October 5,2006 till the date of realisation of the amount,in favour of the petitioners and against the respondents," she said. Delhi-resident Ram Kishan,an MCD employee,had met with an fatal accident on August 1,2006 when he was hit by a bus while walking back home. Kishan's kin had sought a total compensation of Rs 20 lakh along with interest. "Having regard to the circumstances,there is sufficient material on record to indict the erring driver for his rashness and negligence in driving the offending vehicle," the court said. The court ordered that 50 per cent of the awarded amount of Rs 12.67 lakh be imparted in favour of his wife. It also directed that Rs 50,689 be given in favour of each of the three minor children of the deceased which would be kept in a fixed deposit account.
