Page No.# 1/6 vs The State Of Assam And 5 Ors
2025 Latest Caselaw 3077 Gua

Gauhati High Court

Page No.# 1/6 vs The State Of Assam And 5 Ors on 12 February, 2025

                                                                         Page No.# 1/6

GAHC010281582023




                                                                   2025:GAU-AS:1691

                         THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT
  (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH)

                           Case No. : WP(C)/7306/2023

          MUNJUWARA KHATUN
          W/O- LATE SAMIAL BASIR ZAMAN, R/O- VILLAGE- DAKUAMARI, P.O.
          SUKCHAR, P.S. SUKCHAR, DIST.- SOUTH SALMARA-MANKACHAR,
          ASSAM, PIN- 783128

          VERSUS

          THE STATE OF ASSAM AND 5 ORS
          REPRESENTED BY THE COMMISSIONER AND SECRETARY TO THE GOVT.
          OF ASSAM, REVENUE AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT,
          RELIEF AND REHABILITATION BRANCH, DISPUR, GUWAHATI-06

          2:THE COMMISSIONER AND SECRETARY TO THE GOVT. OF ASSAM
           FINANCE DEPARTMENT DISPUR GUWAHATI-06

          3:THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SOUTH SALMARA-MANKACHAR
           DISTRICT- SOUTH SALMARA-MANKACHAR
          ASSAM PIN CODE- 783128

          4:THE CIRCLE OFFICER SUKCHAR REVENUE CIRCLE
           P.O. SUKCHAR P.S. SUKCHAR DIST.- SOUTH SALMARA-MANKACHAR
          ASSAM PIN- 783128

          5:THE SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE SOUTH SALMARA-MANKACHAR
           DIST.- SOUTH SALMARA-MANKACHAR ASSAM PIN- 783128

          6:THE OFFICER-IN-CHARGE OF MANKACHAR POLICE STATION
           P.O. AND P.S. MANKACHAR DIST.- SOUTH SALMARA-MANKACHAR
          ASSAM PIN- 78312

Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. M R KHANDAKAR,
Advocate for the Respondent : GA, ASSAM, SC, FINANCE,SC, REVENUE

Page No.# 2/6

BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE N. UNNI KRISHNAN NAIR

Date of hearing : 12.02.2025 Date of Judgment: 12.02.2025

Judgment & order(Oral)

Heard Mr. M. R. Khandakar, learned counsel for the petitioner. Also heard Ms. G. Hazarika, learned standing counsel, Revenue Department, and Ms. Usha Das, learned Addl. Senior Government Advocate, appearing on behalf of their respective respondents.

2. The petitioner, herein, by way of instituting the present proceeding, has prayed for a direction upon the respondent authorities for payment of ex-gratia compensation to her for the death occasioning to her husband Late Samial Basir Zaman on account of a vehicular accident which had occurred on 31.12.2019.

3. As projected in the writ petition, on 31.12.2019, when the son of the petitioner, named-above, was proceeding by a motor cycle from Chenga towards Nagaon College, he had met with an accident and a Mini Bus having AS-01-EC-6710 moving towards Guwahati in a rash and negligent manner, hit the motorcycle of the son of the petitioner, causing grievous injury to the petitioner along with injury caused to the pillion rider. The son of the petitioner although taken to the Hospital, was declared dead on arrival. In view of the said accident occasioning, the Uncle of the petitioner Ismail Hussain Khan had lodged an First Information Report(FIR) in the matter with the Officer in-charge of Barpeta Police Station. The petitioner, Page No.# 3/6

herein, thereafter, had approached the respondent authorities praying for grant of ex-gratia compensation in terms of the Notification, dated 24.04.2007, by way of filing a representation, dated 07.04.2022. The said representation of the petitioner not being attended to by the respondent authorities and the compensation as prayed for by her not being released; the petitioner, herein, has instituted the present proceeding.

4. At the outset, it is to be noted that the learned counsel for the petitioner on a query made by this Court, has submitted that basing on the accident leading to the death of the son of the petitioner; a Motor Accident Claim Tribunal proceeding was instituted and compensation has been granted therein to the claimants.

5. The petitioner, in the present proceeding, has prayed for grant of compensation basing on the Notification, dated 24.04.2007 and the Notification, dated 15.11.2014. Vide the Notification, dated 24.04.2007, the compensation as stipulated for relief to the family in respect of the persons who were killed/injured due to bomb blasts, group clashes/ extremist activities, accidental causes, etc., in terms of the Notification, dated 22.09.1998, was enhanced. Thereafter, vide Notification, dated 15.11.2014, the quantum of relief as stipulated vide Notification, dated 24.04.2007, was further revised.

6. A perusal of the Notification, dated 24.04.2007, reveals that for accidental deaths also, ex-gratia compensation was being provided by the State. In terms of the Notification, dated 15.11.2014, for accidental death; ex-gratia compensation to the next-of-kin to the persons killed on account Page No.# 4/6

of the accident occurring in public place or in any public carriers, was fixed at Rs. 2 lakhs. It is the said ex-gratia compensation amount of Rs. 2 lakhs that is now being sought to be directed to be released to the petitioner on account of the death of her son in a vehicular accident occurring in a public place.

7. A co-ordinate Bench of this Court in the case of Monisa Khatun @ Monisha Khatun[judgment & order, dated 21.06.2024, in WP(c)2700/2023] had considered the same issue. On consideration of the case laws as referred to by the learned counsels appearing for the parties to the proceeding, therein; the co-ordinate Bench of this Court had drawn the following conclusions:

"14) In this case in hand, the claim of the Petitioner is on the basis that her husband was killed due to an accident in public place which comes within the ambit of serial no. 3 of the notification dated 15.11.2014. It is not in dispute that the petitioner can pursue her case for claiming motor vehicle accident compensation before the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal.

15) In the case of Shashi Sharma (supra), the Supreme Court of India had held that a claim based on contract cannot have any correlation to amount receivable under a statute. Therefore, the claim receivable under statute like provident fund, pension, life insurance, retiral benefits, etc. are deemed to be excluded from amount receivable as motor vehicle compensation. The said position is clarified by the 2- Judge Bench in the case of National Insurance Co. Ltd. (supra).

16) The question is whether petitioner is entitled for ex gratia compensation under notification dated 15.11.2014, when just and fair compensation for accident involving motor vehicle accident can be otherwise claimed before the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal.

17) The notification dated 15.11.2014, envisaging grant of compensation is found to be relatable to provide ex gratia and financial assistance to the persons who were killed/injured due to extremist violence/ terrorist violence/ acts of miscreant/communal violence/ethnic violence/ group clash/ firing of security forces/ accident, etc., who were kidnapped/ abducted by the extremist/ terrorist/ miscreants and whose dwelling houses are fully burnt/ damaged whether due to acts of extremist/ terrorist/ miscreants or during communal violence/ethnic violence/ group clash.

Therefore, accident must be in connection with acts committed by extremist, terrorist, or miscreants, or accidents arising out of group clash, communal violence, and ethnic violence. The said notification dated 15.11.2014, cannot be read as if all persons suffering from any accident except hit and run case where the offending vehicle remain unidentified in the Final Form after police investigation, would become entitled to ex gratia where other statutory remedy is available."

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8. On perusal of the conclusions drawn by this Court in the case of Monisa Khatun @ Monisha Khatun (supra); this Court is in respectful agreement with the same.

9. Given the purport of release of ex-gratia compensation as revealed from the Notifications, dated 24.04.2007, and dated 15.11.2014; this Court is of the considered view that the said ex-gratia compensation is so provided to the next-of-kin and/or person injured when such injury occasions on account of extremist/terrorist violence/acts of miscreant/communal violence/ethnic violence/group clash/firing of security forces/accident, etc.. Although the said Notifications also mandates payment of ex-gratia compensation on account of an accident occasioning in public places or in any public carriers; the same must be understood to be limited to a hit-and-run case wherein the offending vehicle is not identified. As and when an offending vehicle involved in a vehicular accident is identified; the next-of-kin and/or person killed and/or the person injured, can always pursue their remedy before the jurisdictional Motor Accident Claim Tribunal.

10. The compensation due on account of a vehicular accident, in the event, it is so established before a Motor Accident Claim Tribunal; is a just and fair compensation in the accident involved.

11. At this stage, it is to be noticed that the Government of Assam, vide a subsequent Notification, dated 31.10.2023, had excluded all cases of vehicular accidents from the purview of grant of ex-gratia compensation except in hit-and-run cases and third-party cases hit by vehicles at public Page No.# 6/6

places.

12. In that view of the matter, the petitioner, herein, having already received compensation for the death of her son on account of a vehicular accident in the proceeding instituted before the jurisdictional Motor Accident Claim Tribunal; this Court is of the considered view that further direction for release of ex-gratia compensation to the petitioner in terms of the Notification, dated 15.11.2014, would not be called for.

13. In view of the above conclusions, this writ petition is held to be devoid of any merit and accordingly, the same stands dismissed. However, there shall be no order as to costs.

JUDGE

Comparing Assistant