Delhi court awards over Rs 59 lakh to husband of doctor killed in road accident

A Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) has awarded over Rs 59 lakh as compensation to the husband of a 29-year-old doctor who was killed after being hit by a tractor in 2008 here.

The offending tractor with an open trolley had hit the car in which south Delhi-resident Pooja Verma, a third-year PG student then, was travelling with her husband and his family on the Delhi-Mathura road near Haryana.

Verma was pursuing MD in Biochemistry from Lady Hardinge Medical College.

MACT presiding officer Sameer Bajpai awarded the compensation to the husband of Verma, who was a qualified MBBS doctor working with Lady Harding Medical College & Sucheta Kriplani Hospital, New Delhi.

"The petitioner has successfully established on record that Pooja Verma succumbed to the injuries sustained in the road accident due to rash and negligent driving of vehicle... Therefore, this issue is decided in favour of the petitioners and against the respondents," the court said.

On December 14, 2008, Verma was travelling with her husband Manasvi Kumar and his father, mother and sister when the offending tractor turned towards them on the highway and dashed their vehicle, the complaint filed by Kumar said.

In his complaint, Kumar also stated that he was not employed at the time of his wife's death and therefore was completely dependent upon her.

However, the court noted that since Kumar was remarried now, therefore he was not entitled to get any compensation towards loss of dependency.