The motor accident claims tribunal on Friday ordered a motorcyclist, the bike’s owner and its insurer to pay ₹ 12 lakh to the family of a migrant worker who died after a motorcycle hit him on the Chandigarh-Ambala highway in 2023.
He fell, hit his head on the roadside and suffered serious injuries. The rider fled the spot, but police later arrested Tarun, seized the motorcycle and charge-sheeted him. Liberty General Insurance argued the claim was time-barred, that Yadav’s family had no connection to the tribunal’s jurisdiction, and that the rider held no valid licence. It also suggested a hit-and-run by an unknown vehicle or Yadav’s own negligence. The tribunal rejected these arguments. Kasana found Rinku Ram’s testimony reliable and noted that Tarun did not enter the witness box or call any witness.
Parlahd Yadav, also called Prahlad Yadav, was 48. He was walking from Lehli towards Lalru on August 2, 2023, when a motorcycle bearing registration HR-01-AV-6530 struck him from behind near the Jhilmil river. Police and bystanders took him to civil hospital, Dera Bassi, which referred him to GMCH-32 in Chandigarh. He succumbed to injuries on August 4. Police registered FIR 115 at Lalru police station under Sections 279 and 304-A of the IPC on his statement.
Eyewitness Rinku Ram told the tribunal that he saw the motorcycle hit Yadav, noted its registration number and helped take the injured man to hospital. Tarun and the bike’s owner, Kartik, denied the accident and said police had falsely implicated them. He said Tarun never complained to senior police officers about a false case.
The family lives in Hadiha Khurd village, Ballia district, Uttar Pradesh. The family did not prove Yadav worked in Punjab and his Aadhaar card showed Uttar Pradesh residence. The insurer must indemnify the owner. Any no-fault liability amount the family has received will be deducted.
Presiding officer Atul Kasana pronounced the award on October 30, 2026, in the petition filed by Sonamati Devi, her son Visheshwar Yadav and her daughter Reema Yadav. They had sought ₹ 60 lakh. It added 25% for future prospects, raising monthly income to ₹ 12,611, and deducted half for personal expenses. Applying a multiplier of 13, it fixed loss of dependency at ₹ 9,83,658. The three respondents must pay jointly and severally, with 7.5% annual interest from the date of filing the petition until payment.
The tribunal therefore used the Uttar Pradesh minimum wage for unskilled labour, ₹ 10,089 a month.
