High Court: On the remarriage of the widow, will she get compensation for the death of the first husband in the accident? Know what the High Court said

Justice SG said, ‘One cannot expect that in order to get compensation for the deceased husband, the widow has to remain a widow for life or till she gets the compensation. Remarriage after death of husband cannot debar her from getting compensation.’

Pune’s matter

In its March 3 order, the High Court dismissed the appeal of The IFFCO Tokio General Insurance Company Limited against the October 1, 2017 order of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Pune. In the order, the court directed the three claimants, including the widow, to pay a compensation of Rs 10 lakh.

Ganesh was going on a motorcycle

The case pertains to an incident on May 15, 2010, when Ganesh was traveling on the pillion seat of his friend Sakharam’s motorcycle. They were going towards Kamshet on the Mumbai-Pune road. He was hit by an autorickshaw being driven rashly and negligently. Sakharam and Ganesh have suffered a lot of injuries. Ganesh also suffered a head injury and died during treatment at the hospital.

The case was going on in the court

Ganesh’s widow filed a claim petition before the MACT and during its pendency she remarried. Before the High Court, the insurer argued that Ganesh’s widow, who was one of the three claimants, had remarried after his death and was therefore not entitled to compensation. The counsel for the claimants said that at the time of Ganesh’s death his widow was barely 19 years old and hence her remarriage cannot be a ground for denying her compensation. He said that Ganesh used to earn Rs 10,000 a month from welding work and from his land.

Was allowed to walk in Thane

The insurer had said that it cannot be held liable for compensation as the autorickshaw had broken the law. The autorickshaw that caused the accident was permitted to ply only in Thane district and was in violation of the insurance policy. On the issue of remarriage of Ganesh’s widow, Justice Digge said that the woman cannot be expected to remain a widow for life in order to get compensation.