The decision got here in a case of a automobile accident through which a person was killed after the automobile he was touring in toppled following a tyre burst. Nevertheless, the New India Assurance Co Ltd. refused to pay compensation, saying that the accident was an act of God.
As reported by the Occasions of India, the accident occurred on October 25, 2010. Patwardhan (38) was touring from Pune to Mumbai with two of his colleagues to attend a operate. “The colleague who owned the automobile was driving it in a rash and negligent method with an uncontrollable velocity when the rear wheel burst and the automobile fell right into a deep ditch, killing Patwardhan on the spot. Patwardhan was the only bread-earner within the household and left behind his spouse (34), daughter (7), father (70) and mom (65). He was an assistant supervisor with a non-public firm and drew almost Rs 69,000 wage on the time of his loss of life,” as per the TOI report.
The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Pune, had directed the insurance coverage firm to pay almost Rs 1.25 crore with 9% curiosity to the household of Makarand Patwardhan.
Nevertheless, the insurance coverage firm challenged the June 7, 2016 order of the tribunal earlier than the excessive courtroom, saying that the tribunal awarded exorbitant and extreme compensation. A tyre burst, it argued, was an act of God and never the results of the driving force’s negligence.
Nevertheless, Justice S G Dige of Bombay Excessive Court docket famous that the dictionary which means of ‘act of God’ is ‘an occasion of uncontrollable pure forces in operation.’ “It refers to a extreme unanticipated pure occasion for which no human is accountable. The bursting of a tyre can’t be termed as an act of God. It’s an act of human negligence,” he stated.
