Latest news with #Khandal
Time of India
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Shah Rukh Khan's employee finally gets justice 8 years after death: Rs 62.2 lakh compensation ordered by Bombay HC
The Bombay High Court has upheld a compensation of Rs 62.2 lakh to the family of Charu Khandal , an animator with Shah Rukh Khan 's Red Chillies Entertainment, nearly eight years after the initial claim was filed. Khandal had suffered life-altering spinal injuries in a 2012 hit-and-run accident and remained paralyzed until her death in 2017. As per PTI , the decision comes after the Motor Accidents Claim Tribunal (MACT) awarded compensation in November 2020, which was challenged by Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company. On May 9, 2024, a bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Advait Sethna dismissed the appeal, calling the compensation 'fair and reasonable' under the tragic circumstances of the case. Tragic Turn After National Recognition Khandal was a lead character animator and part of the team responsible for the VFX work on the 2011 Bollywood film a project that earned her a National Award. On March 24, 2012, she celebrated the victory with her sister Ritu and friend Vikrant Goyal. Hours later, the auto-rickshaw they were travelling in was struck by a speeding car in Mumbai's Oshiwara area. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Play War Thunder now for free War Thunder Play Now Undo While Ritu sustained minor injuries, both Khandal and Goyal were critically hurt and slipped into comas. Though Khandal regained consciousness, she remained paralyzed from the neck down, requiring round-the-clock care until her death on January 17, 2017. Court Rejects Insurer's Claims The insurer contested the tribunal's order by arguing that Khandal's death was not directly related to the accident. They also pointed out alleged deficiencies in her medical documentation. However, the court found that her death was a result of complications due to quadriplegia, which stemmed from the accident. The court further observed that assessing each medical bill with mathematical precision would be excessive in a case dealing with prolonged suffering and death. In rejecting the appeal, the bench stressed that compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act is meant to be a relief for victims and their families, not bound by rigid technicalities. The court noted that the family had spent around Rs 18–20 lakh on treatment and required full-time attendants and physiotherapy for Khandal over the years. Khandal's personal life was equally affected. She had been in a relationship with Sagar Thacker, who also worked in the animation industry. He later shared his regret over not being with her at the time of the accident, revealing that she had wanted to continue exploring the city that night, but he had chosen to return home. Despite her condition, Charu was reportedly making efforts to regain a sense of normalcy. With the help of assistive technology, she had regained her voice and was beginning to use computers again. Renowned scientist Prof. Prabhat Ranjan had been assisting her rehabilitation. Support from Shah Rukh Khan Shah Rukh Khan, upon learning of her accident, personally visited Khandal at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital. According to her family, the actor not only spoke with her doctors but also spent time with her family, offering encouragement and expressing hope in her strength to recover. The court described the case as a 'heart-wrenching and tragic saga' and emphasized that while no amount of money can replace a life, the law must aim to provide justice in the form of fair compensation. The judges stated: 'Perfect compensation is hardly possible, but fair compensation ought to be the norm. Each case has to be decided on its own facts.' The High Court's affirmation of the Rs 62.2 lakh compensation offers closure to the family of Charu Khandal, whose contributions to Indian cinema were tragically overshadowed by the devastating consequences of that fateful night in 2012.
Time of India
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Shah Rukh Khan's Ra.One animator Charu Khandal's family to receive Rs 62 lakh compensation in 2012 hit-and-run case, rules Bombay High Court
In a deeply emotional verdict, the Bombay High Court has upheld the compensation of Rs 62 lakh awarded to the family of Charu Khandal , a promising animator from 's Red Chillies Entertainment , who tragically succumbed to injuries from a hit-and-run accident. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Calling her story 'a heart-wrenching and tragic saga of a young aspiring professional woman,' the court reminded that while perfect justice is elusive, fairness must prevail. Charu Khandal had worked on Shah Rukh Khan's , was paralysed in 2012 accident According to Law Trend, a division bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Advait Sethna dismissed the plea filed by Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Co. Ltd, which had challenged the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal's (MACT) decision from November 2020. The tribunal had earlier awarded the compensation to Khandal's family, recognising the long-lasting impact of her injuries. Khandal, who contributed to the visual effects of Shah Rukh Khan's film was returning home from a celebratory party in March 2012 when a speeding car rammed into her autorickshaw in Mumbai's Oshiwara. The accident left her paralysed from the neck down, a condition she lived with for five years before succumbing to septicaemia in 2017 at the age of just 28. Judges call Charu Khandal's case 'a heart-wrenching and tragic saga' of a young woman The insurance company argued that her death occurred years after the accident and lacked a direct link to the injuries. The court, however, firmly rejected this argument, stating that her death was 'a direct consequence of traumatic quadriplegia' caused by the accident. 'The Motor Vehicles Act is a beneficial piece of legislation,' the court stated, emphasising that the constitutional right to a dignified life under Article 21 must be upheld. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Quoting a Supreme Court ruling, the bench said, 'Perfect compensation is hardly possible, but fair compensation ought to be the norm.' The court also took into account the Rs 18 lakh spent by Khandal's family on medical care, which included physiotherapy and a full-time caregiver. When the insurer tried to challenge the bills on 'hyper-technical' grounds, the court dismissed the objection, saying, 'It would be extremely harsh, excessive and rather too pedantic an approach in such matters of life and death if we are to assess every single medical bill with mathematical accuracy.'
The Print
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Print
HC upholds Rs 62 lakh compensation to family of SRK's production house employee
It said that the Motor Vehicles Act was a 'beneficial piece of legislation', and the court cannot overlook the fundamental right guaranteed to a citizen under Article 21 involving the right to live a healthy life with dignity. A bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Advait Sethna on May 9 said it did not find any perversity, illegality or irregularity in the November 2020 order passed by a tribunal and refused to quash it. Mumbai, May 12 (PTI) Perfect compensation is hardly possible, but a fair one must be a norm, the Bombay High Court has said, upholding Rs 62 lakh given to the family of an employee with actor Shah Rukh Khan's production house, who sustained injuries in a hit-and-run and died later. Referring to a Supreme Court judgment, the high court said money cannot substitute loss of life, but an effort must be made to grant compensation where the money could compensate for the damages incurred. 'Perfect compensation is hardly possible, but fair compensation ought to be the norm,' the court observed. The court said the least that could be done to serve the ends of justice was to uphold the grant of Rs 62 lakh compensation to the family of Charu Khandal, an animator with Khan's production house, Red Chillies Entertainment. The court, in its order, said this was a 'heart-wrenching and a tragic saga' of a young aspiring professional woman who did not deserve the life that she went through after the accident leading to the final sacrifice of her life. Khandal, who worked on the VFX for Khan's film ' died in 2017, five years after she suffered paralysis following an accident involving a speeding car that rammed into an autorickshaw she was travelling in. She had been paralysed neck-down after suffering cervical spinal cord injuries in an accident in suburban Oshiwara in March 2012. Khandal was 28 years old when she met with the accident while returning from a party to celebrate her team winning an award for the movie. The bench dismissed the petition filed by Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Co. Ltd, challenging the tribunal's order. Khandal's family, after the accident, had filed a claim for compensation before the Motor Accident Claim Tribunal in June 2014, and the tribunal awarded a compensation of Rs 62 lakh in November 2020. The insurance company, in its appeal to the high court, claimed there was no nexus between the death of the woman and the injuries suffered by her in the accident and that she had died more than four years after it. The tribunal had erroneously assumed that the death may have occurred due to the quadriplegic condition of the woman, the company claimed. The high court, however, refused to accept this contention and said the cause of death was septicaemia, which was due to the traumatic quadriplegia. The high court noted that Khandal's family had incurred Rs 18 lakh in medical bills. The bench said it did not find any infirmity with the tribunal's findings that throughout five years, Khandal, who was paralysed, would have required an attendant and physiotherapy sessions. 'It would be extremely harsh, excessive and rather too pedantic an approach in such matters of life and death if we are to assess every single medical bill with mathematical accuracy, which is not what the law would mandate,' it stated. The bench said the insurance company cannot take a hyper-technical view and wriggle out of the insurance policy to ultimately deprive the victim's family of what they legally deserve. PTI SP ARU This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
