Anandi Lal and ors. Vs. Bhairu Ram and ors. - Court Judgment

Excerpt:
- orderg.s. sarraf, j.1. the claimant-appellants have filed this appeal under section 173 of the motor vehicles act against the judgment/award dated 26.9.1995 of the motor accident claims tribunal, jaipur district, jaipur.2. an unfortunate accident took place at about 2.30 p.m. on 6.2.1991 where the deceased ram lal was run over by truck rnj-935 insured by respondent no. 3 insurance company. claimant-appellant no. 1 is the father, claimant-appellant no. 2 is the mother and claimant-appellant nos. 3 to 5 are brothers and sister of the deceased ram lal. the learned tribunal after hearing the parties held that the accident occurred due to rash and negligent driving of the driver of the truck and passed an award of rs. 72,000 in favour of the claimant-appellants. aggrieved by this judgment/award the claimant-appellants have filed this appeal.3. the short controversy involved in this case is that whether the compensation awarded by the learned tribunal is fair and adequate.4. i have heard the learned counsel mr. vinay mathur on behalf of mr. k.n. tiwari for the appellants and mrs. manju jain for respondent no. 3.5. in my view as the deceased ram lal was aged about 19 years and belonged to labour class it is obvious that, had he survived, he would have earned a substantial amount per month for the benefit of the family and as such the compensation of rs. 72,000 appears to be inadequate. even taking a reasonable view of the amount which the deceased would have earned had he survived and considering the future economic prospects of the deceased i deem it fit and appropriate to increase the award amount to a lumpsum amount of rs. 1,50,000. thus the claimant-appellants are entitled to compensation to the tune of rs. 1,50,000. my view is based on the judgment of hon'ble apex court in 1998 acj 848.6. the appeal of the claimant-appellants is, therefore, allowed to the extent stated above and the amount of compensation is increased from rs. 72,000 to rs. 1,50,000. the claimant-appellants will be entitled to interest at the rate of 6% per annum from the date of the award of the learned tribunal to the date of deposit/ realisation on the enhanced amount. if the aforesaid amount is not paid or deposited within a period of three months then the respondents will have to pay interest at the rate of 12% per annum. the learned tribunal will apportion the amount among the claimants and will pass necessary orders regarding payment/deposit thereof. no order as to costs.

Judgment:
ORDER

G.S. Sarraf, J.

1. The claimant-appellants have filed this appeal under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act against the judgment/award dated 26.9.1995 of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Jaipur District, Jaipur.

2. An unfortunate accident took place at about 2.30 p.m. on 6.2.1991 where the deceased Ram Lal was run over by truck RNJ-935 insured by respondent No. 3 Insurance Company. Claimant-appellant No. 1 is the father, claimant-appellant No. 2 is the mother and claimant-appellant Nos. 3 to 5 are brothers and sister of the deceased Ram Lal. The learned Tribunal after hearing the parties held that the accident occurred due to rash and negligent driving of the driver of the truck and passed an award of Rs. 72,000 in favour of the claimant-appellants. Aggrieved by this judgment/award the claimant-appellants have filed this appeal.

3. The short controversy involved in this case is that whether the compensation awarded by the learned Tribunal is fair and adequate.

4. I have heard the learned Counsel Mr. Vinay Mathur on behalf of Mr. K.N. Tiwari for the appellants and Mrs. Manju Jain for respondent No. 3.

5. In my view as the deceased Ram Lal was aged about 19 years and belonged to labour class it is obvious that, had he survived, he would have earned a substantial amount per month for the benefit of the family and as such the compensation of Rs. 72,000 appears to be inadequate. Even taking a reasonable view of the amount which the deceased would have earned had he survived and considering the future economic prospects of the deceased I deem it fit and appropriate to increase the award amount to a lumpsum amount of Rs. 1,50,000. Thus the claimant-appellants are entitled to compensation to the tune of Rs. 1,50,000. My view is based on the judgment of Hon'ble Apex Court in 1998 ACJ 848.

6. The appeal of the claimant-appellants is, therefore, allowed to the extent stated above and the amount of compensation is increased from Rs. 72,000 to Rs. 1,50,000. The claimant-appellants will be entitled to interest at the rate of 6% per annum from the date of the award of the learned Tribunal to the date of deposit/ realisation on the enhanced amount. If the aforesaid amount is not paid or deposited within a period of three months then the respondents will have to pay interest at the rate of 12% per annum. The learned Tribunal will apportion the amount among the claimants and will pass necessary orders regarding payment/deposit thereof. No order as to costs.