Thane: Rs 10.94L for expat couple injured in accident on India visit

Thane: The Thane Motor Accident Tribunal (MACT) has awarded a compensation of Rs 10.94 lakh to a couple from Canada who were injured in an accident during their visit to India 12 years ago.

MACT member H M Bhosale directed the respondents - the owner of the offending tourist car of Delhi-based Shine Holidays and United India Insurance Company Limited - to jointly and severally pay the claimants with an interest of 8 per cent per annum from the date of filing the compensation.

The order was passed on July 18 and a copy of the same was made available on Friday.

The owner of the tourist car did not appear and the case was decided ex-parte against him, while the insurance company was represented by advocate A K Tiwari.

The claimants, Bipinchandra Kewalanand Kothyari and his wife Archana, both 45 at the time of the accident, were residents of Ontario, Canada and had arrived in Navi Mumbai.

The couple proceeded to Delhi by flight, and the accident took place when they were travelling in a tourist car to Kaladungi in Uttarakhand on December 19, 2011, the petition stated.

The tourist car was being driven in a rash and negligent manner, due to which the accident took place. The petitioners were trapped in the mangled car, and were pulled out by two doctors who were passing by, it stated.

After initial treatments at Moradabad and Haldwani, the couple was brought to Mumbai, where they underwent treatment and returned to Canada.

The petitioners submitted that the accident had seriously impacted their day-to-day activities and affected their finances.

Published on: Saturday, July 23, 2022, 10:16 AM IST