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Court observed that the remarriage of the wife of the deceased, who died in a motor accident, could not be a ground to deny her compensation.
The Bombay High Court recently ruled that the remarriage of a widow whose husband died in an accident is not sufficient ground to deny her compensation claim under the Motor Vehicles Act.
Regarding the case at hand, the single judge bench of Justice S.G. Dige observed, "At the time of the accident, she was the legally wedded wife of the deceased, which is a sufficient ground for entitlement to compensation."
“After the death of a husband, remarriage cannot be taboo to get compensation. Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act provides that all or any legal representative of the deceased can file an application for compensation, and therefore the compensation application filed by the wife after the accident is legal,” the court said.
The bench was hearing an appeal filed by the Iffco Tokio General Insurance Company Ltd. against the order passed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Pune.
On May 15, 2010, the deceased in the present case Ganesh Gaikwad was travelling as a pillion rider on a motorcycle with Sakharam Gaikwad. They were hit by an autorickshaw, which was being driven in a rash, negligent, and excessive manner. Both of them fell on the road and suffered numerous injuries. Ganesh suffered a brain injury and died during treatment. And thereafter, a case was registered against the driver of the auto-rickshaw.
At the time of the accident, the deceased’s wife was 19 years old and had filed a claim petition before the tribunal for compensation; during the pendency of the matter, she got married again.
The counsel appearing for the insurance company contended that the company was not liable to pay the compensation because the rickshaw was outside the jurisdiction and also violated the terms and conditions of the permit. The permit was for the Thane district only, but the accident took place on the Mumbai-Pune road.
It was further submitted that the deceased’s wife got remarried and, hence, she was not entitled to any compensation.
The counsel representing the claimants submitted that there was no evidence to prove that there was any kind of breach of the permit. Further, when Ganesh died, his wife was a widow, and after that, she filed the claim petition; therefore, remarriage could not be a grounds to deny compensation to her, the counsel contended.
The court, after hearing the arguments made by both parties, held that the appellants had not examined any witness to prove that taking the offending rickshaw outside the jurisdiction of Thane District was a breach of the terms of the permit and, thus, there was no breach of the terms and conditions of the insurance policy.
The bench mentioned that "remarriage cannot be a ground to deny compensation to her."
Further, the court held that the claimants were entitled to Rs. 80,000 as an additional amount @ 7.5% per annum from October 1, 2017, until the realisation of the amount and directed the insurance company to deposit the amount within 4 weeks. Accordingly, the bench dismissed the appeal of the insurance company.
Case Title: The Iffco Tokio General Insurance Company Ltd. vs. Smt Bhagyashri Ganesh Gaikwad & Ors.
Statute: Motor Vehicle Act
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