“There is a clear policy vacuum, and the family of the victim/cyclist cannot be left to struggle with fate. In these peculiar circumstances, the assistance of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) is necessary to understand if there is any policy/scheme wherein peculiar cases like the present one can be covered,” the tribunal said
New Delhi:A Delhi Motor Accident Claim Tribunal has sought the Centre’s assistance to decide a case where the victim was not covered under any government-run scheme for providing compensation.
Presiding Officer Abhilash Malhotra was hearing a claim petition filed by the wife of a road accident victim, who died after his cycle was hit by a car in 2024 near South Campus here.The tribunal noted that the driver of the car also died in the accident and his legal heirs were facing litigation.
In an order dated January 31, the tribunal said, “The driver-cum-owner of the offending vehicle had died in the road accident. His parents are poor people who live in a jhuggi and do not have any estate inherited from the deceased driver.”
It said that the victim’s case was “not covered in the scheme of the Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DLSA) or any other scheme”.
“There is a clear policy vacuum, and the family of the victim/cyclist cannot be left to struggle with fate. In these peculiar circumstances, the assistance of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) is necessary to understand if there is any policy/scheme wherein peculiar cases like the present one can be covered,” the tribunal said.
It directed that a copy of the order be sent to MoRTH, requesting the Union ministry to depute a representative to assist the tribunal on the next date of hearing on February 27 and apprise whether the family of victims can be compensated under any government-run policy.