MACT Pune awards ₹59.45 lakh to parents of junior college teacher killed in 2017 road accident

​The award carries 7% annual interest from the date of filing of the claim petition until realisation. The amount is to be distributed among the claimants as directed by the tribunal.

PUNE: The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT), Pune, has awarded ₹59.45 lakh compensation to the parents of a 29-year-old junior college teacher who died of injuries sustained in a road accident in 2017, holding that the truck driver was responsible for the accident.

Mirzapur: People gather near the accident site after a truck overturned on a car in Mirzapur, Friday, Jan. 24, 2020. (PTI Photo) (PTI1_24_2020_000212B) (PTI)

The judgment was delivered by MACT member and Special Judge S R Agrawal on September 15, 2026.

According to the petition, Nilesh Shyamrao Kharat and his friend Pranay Pandharinath Gavand were travelling on a motorcycle from Theur towards Dehu on Lonikand Road on April 29, 2017. When they reached near Jogeshwai Temple at around 6.30pm, a truck allegedly being driven rashly and negligently at high speed collided with their motorcycle.

Pranay died on the spot, while Nilesh sustained multiple injuries. He was treated at hospitals in Wagholi and Pune before being shifted to Sassoon Hospital, where he died on May 9, 2017.

During the investigation, police found that the actual registration number of the truck was MH-12-FC-7989, while its number plate displayed MH-12-FZ-7651. A chargesheet was subsequently filed against driver Jyotiram Salunkhe and Sagar Chaudhari, who was accused of changing the truck’s number plate.

​The tribunal also found that the truck driver did not possess a valid driving licence on the date of the accident and that the vehicle did not have a valid permit, amounting to a breach of the insurance policy conditions.

​However, the insurance company was directed to first pay the compensation, with liberty to recover the amount from the vehicle owner under the “pay and recover” principle.

​The award carries 7% annual interest from the date of filing of the claim petition until realisation. The amount is to be distributed among the claimants as directed by the tribunal.