Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 30: Presiding Officer MACT Court Rajouri RN Wattal today decided 67 petitions and awarded Rs 5,32,40000 as compensation with the direction to the Oriental Insurance Company to pay the amount with 7.5% interest per annum.
“The petitioners have lost their near and dear ones due to the negligence of deceased respondent/driver, who is tortuously liable and respondent/ owner is vicariously liable to pay the compensation to the petitioners”, the Presiding Officer said, adding “since the offending vehicle was insured with respondent /insurance, as such, the respondent/ insurance company shall be liable to indemnify the owner of the offending vehicle of his liability with respect to the highest awards of seating capacity-37 passengers”.
“There was overloading of 19 passengers, out of which claim petitions with respect to 04 passengers (deceased) have been dismissed and for remaining 15 passengers (deceased), the awards passed, which are lowest in the amount shall be paid by the owner of offending vehicle, but at first instance by the respondent/insurance company, with liberty to recover the same from owner of the offending vehicle”, the MACT said.
The Presiding Officer directed Oriental Insurance Company to make payment of the awarded amount within a period of 60 days from the date of award. Since the offending vehicle was overloaded in contravention of the terms and conditions of the Insurance Policy, the respondent/insurance company is at liberty to recover the awarded amount with regard to the 15 lowest awards from respondent/owner as pay and recovery liability.
In the claim petitions, the petitioners claimed compensation on account of death of passengers in a road traffic accident on 04.09.2014. It was mentioned in the petitions that one Lalit Kumar alias Lovely Kumar was driving the offending bus bearing No. JK02AL-9075 in rash and negligent manner from Rajpur Kamila to Lam and this led to the accident.
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