Road mishap: Scribe’s parents get over Rs 22L compensation

New Delhi : Parents of a 26-year-old journalist, who died in a road accident involving a rashly driven car, have been awarded a compensation of over Rs 22 lakh by a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) here. MACT Presiding Officer Manish Gupta directed New India Assurance Company Ltd, with which the offending car was insured, to pay Rs 22,55,132 as compensation to the parents of victim Kunal Manchanda, an online editor at a media house, who died after his motorcycle was hit by the car in 2006.

The tribunal, while holding the driver guilty of rash and negligent driving, relied on documents on record, including the FIR, seizure memo of the car, mechanical inspection report of the vehicles and post-mortem report of the victim.

“From the entire evidence on record it is clear that the accident in question occurred due to rash and negligent driving of the offending car by its driver on the relevant date, place and time and hit the motorcycle and Kunal expired due to the injuries suffered…” it said.

According to the petition, Kunal, a resident of Rohini here, was on his way back home on his bike from Noida late at night on July 16, 2006. When he reached Prashant Vihar T-point intersection, he was knocked down by a speeding car which was being driven in rash and negligent manner by its driver, it said.

Kunal was taken to a hospital where he succumbed to injuries a few hours later and an FIR was lodged against the driver for the offences of rash driving and causing death by negligence under IPC. The petition filed by Kunal’s parents, claimed a compensation of Rs 25 lakh for the untimely loss of their son. During the proceedings, the driver had claimed that he was driving at a normal speed and the accident took place due to the victim’s negligence.