The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal has awarded compensation to the heirs of a couple who died in a 2018 crash on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, but the amount reported in the supplied account requires verification because it contains a major numerical discrepancy.
The report’s headline describes the award as Rs 1.80 crore. Its detailed account, however, refers to a total of Rs 180 crore, while the individual amounts listed for the deaths of Sanjana Chugh and Ankit Bhupindersingh Chugh are Rs 92,53,500 and Rs 88,45,732 respectively. Those two figures add up to Rs 1,80,99,232, or approximately Rs 1.81 crore. The tribunal order itself was not supplied for independent review.
The accident occurred on December 23, 2018, when a Wagon R carrying Ankit Chugh, his wife Sanjana and their two minor children collided with the rear of a truck on the expressway. According to the report, the truck had applied its brakes and the car was dragged for more than a kilometre after the impact. The couple later died at a rural hospital in Panvel.
In an order dated October 29, MACT Member Gauri Kawdikar held Ankit Chugh 70 per cent contributorily negligent and attributed 30 per cent liability to the truck driver for rash and negligent driving. The tribunal observed that drivers must maintain a safe distance from vehicles ahead and control their speed sufficiently to stop when necessary.
The order also recorded that a vehicle travelling behind cannot automatically be held responsible when the vehicle ahead suddenly brakes. At the same time, the tribunal found that maintaining a safe distance and controlling the car’s speed could have allowed the driver to brake in time and avoid the collision.
The compensation assessment considered the couple’s incomes. The report said Sanjana Chugh worked at Samsidh Mount Litra Zee School, while Ankit Chugh was employed as a senior delivery specialist at Dell International Services. The award was divided between claims relating to each death, with the exact amounts reported as Rs 92,53,500 and Rs 88,45,732.
The insurer had argued that the truck’s permit was valid only in Rajasthan and Gujarat and had not been extended to Maharashtra. The tribunal nevertheless directed the insurance company to satisfy the compensation award first, while allowing it to recover the amount subsequently from the truck owner.
The numerical discrepancy is significant because the difference between Rs 1.80 crore and Rs 180 crore changes the reported award by a factor of 100. Confirmation from the tribunal order or the parties involved is required before the final compensation figure can be treated as established.
