United India Insurance Co. Ltd. vs Devendra Kumar and Others

W.A. Shah, J.—This is an appeal by the Insurance Company to challenge the quantum of Award granted by the learned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Jhabua vide dated 8th July, 2002 passed in Motor Accident Claim Case No. 70/999. The total amount of compensation, as awarded, has been Rs. 3,42,000.00 along with usual interest and costs and with certain directions for disbursement. The directions are not the subject matter of this appeal.

The learned Counsel for the appellant submitted that the award in question does not spell out the reasons for assessment of the amount in question. I find that in Para No. 8 of the impugned Award the learned Tribunal has very elaborately dealt with the nature of injuries, the amount of trauma undertaken and likely to be undertaken by the claimant/respondent No. 1. The learned Tribunal has also found that it was a case, as per medical evidence, of 37% disability and the disability flowed from fractures in tibia fibula and navicular bone. I also find vide Para No. 10 of the impugned Award that there are certain observations which are made by the Tribunal based on medical evidence rendered by A.W. 1 Dr. Banwarilal Agrawal. Further it is found that the learned Tribunal referring certain reported cases fixed up the amount of compensation. The Tribunal decided to go by the case law mentioned therein. It is not to be lost sight of that in cases of motor accident claims when injury is to be compensated the amount of guess work and the amount of personal experience of the Presiding Officer of the Tribunal plays a very dominant role. In this case I do not find that the amount as determined by the learned Tribunal is in any way abnormal or shows any perversity. It does not show imbalance on the part of the learned Tribunal.

The learned Counsel for the appellant also submitted that the claim of the respondent No. 1 was only to the extent of Rs. 2,60,000.00 and, therefore, when the Tribunal awarded the amunt more than the claim, this appeal should be allowed at least to the extent of reduction to the amount of claim to Rs. 2,60,000. In this connection it is trite law that the motor accident claims under the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act are not the civil suits and the very object of the proceedings under the Motor Vehicles Act is to secure adequate compensation to the claimants. Therefore, the strict rules of CPC are not applicable to the cases under the Motor Vehicles Act for compensation. Accordingly this is not a case in which jurisdictional error on the part of the learned Tribunal can be found.

In view of the above matter this appeal has no substance. It is accordingly rejected, however, with no order as to costs.