Jammu & Kashmir High Court
Reliance General Insurance Co. Ltd vs Dr. Madhu Khullar on 8 May, 2025
Author: Rahul Bharti
Bench: Rahul Bharti
2023:JKLHC-JMU:5745
HIGH COURT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR AND LADAKH
AT JAMMU
MA No. 305/2014
Reliance General Insurance Co. Ltd., TRG, Building, Rail Head
Complex, Bahu Plaza, Jammu through Sh. Maninder Kapoor,
Legal Executive, S/o Dr. Baljit Singh.
.....Appellant(s)/Petitioner(s)
Through: Mr. Vishnu Gupta, Advocate
Vs
1. Dr. Madhu Khullar, W/o Late Rajesh Khullar, R/o 159-A/D,
Gandhi Nagar, Jammu.
2. M/s Nimbarak Rice Mills, Taratith Morh, Bari Brahmana, District
Samba (owner of Truck No. JK02E/9995).
3. Sham Singh, S/o Rasal Singh, R/o At/p Village Sunetar, Tehsil
Hiranagar. (Driver of Truck No. JK02E/9995).
.....Respondent(s)
Through: Mr. Achal Sharma, Advocate.
Coram: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAHUL BHARTI, JUDGE
JUDGMENT
08.05.2025
01. Heard.
02. The appellant- Reliance General Insurance Co. Ltd., is
in an appeal filed under section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act,
1988 being aggrieved of an award dated 28.03.2014 passed by
the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT), Jammu in
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response to a claim petition No. 103/2010 filed by the
respondent No. 1 - Dr. Madhu Khullar thereby granting
compensation of an amount of Rs. 25,72,000/- along with
pendente lite and future interest @ 7.5% per annum burdened
upon the appellant as being the insurer of the accident
causing offending vehicle bearing registration No. JK02E/9995
owned by the respondent No. 2 - M/s Nimbarak Rice Mills and
driven by the respondent No. 3 - Sham Singh which resulted
in death of Rajesh Khullar, the husband of the respondent No.
1 - Dr. Madhu Khullar, who was driving his car bearing
registration No. JK02AD/5212 when it came to be hit by the
offending vehicle above referred on 15.09.2008 resulting in
casualty. Sh. Rajesh Khullar came to suffer death on
16.09.2008 on account of fatal injuries out of the accident.
03. The respondent No. 1 - Dr. Madhu Khullar, being a
claimant preferred a claim petition before the Motor Accident
Claims Tribunal (MACT), Jammu alleging therein that age of
the victim-Rajesh Khullar was 55 years at the time of death
and was running the private business of restaurant under the
name and style of "Handi" besides being a private contractor
and, therefore, earning an amount of Rs. 25,000/- per month
leaving behind the respondent No. 1- Dr. Madhu Khullar as
his widow.
04. The respondent No. 1 in her claim petition had
claimed an amount of Rs.22,15,000/- along with interest @
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12% per annum. The institution of the claim petition had
taken place on 25.06.2010.
05. At the time of his death, the victim Rajesh Khullar was
survived by the respondent No. 1 - Dr. Madhu Khullar, his
mother who was then 88 years old and an unmarried
daughter, namely, Shagun who was also dependent upon him.
06. In the claim petition, the respondent No. 1 -
Dr. Madhu Khullar did not disclose the fact of the victim -
Rajesh Khullar being survived by his aged mother and his
unmarried daughter. Instead what came to be pleaded in the
claim petition was that there is no other adult male issue to
continue the family of the petitioners, meaning thereby at the
back of her mind the respondent No. 1 - Dr. Madhu Khullar
was conscious of the fact that she alone was not the
dependent so as to be the sole claimant vis-à-vis her husband-
Rajesh Khullar as two other women were at that point of time
were dependents surviving Rajesh Khullar, although no male
person was left as dependent.
07. It is only in her examination as a witness that the
respondent No. 1 - Dr. Madhu Khullar has come to admit that
she has a daughter, namely, Shagun who was unmarried and
also mother-in-law aged 88 years.
08. The moot question in the present appeal, shorn of
other grounds of challenge to the compensation so awarded in
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favour of the respondent No. 1 - Dr. Madhu Khullar, is as to
whether in view of this statement of fact in her cross
examination that the victim - Rajesh Khullar was survived by
two other dependents, namely, his mother and daughter
could the entire compensation as assessed by the Motor
Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT), Jammu amounting to
Rs. 25,72,000/- be paid and awarded in favour of the
respondent No. 1 only as well as in favour of her daughter
leaving the aged mother even if 88 years then out of
consideration. If the respondent No. 1 - Dr. Madhu Khullar
had lost Rajesh Khullar as her husband, if the respondent No.
1 - Dr. Madhu Khullar's unmarried daughter Ms. Shagun had
lost Rajesh Khullar as her father, then the respondent No. 1 -
Dr. Madhu Khullar's mother-in-law, even though 88 years old,
had equally suffered by loss of her son Rajesh Khullar.
09. In support of the plea that a mother of the deceased is
also one of the claimants entitled to compensation and in the
context of the present case her share of compensation to be
excluded out of the total compensation awarded, Mr. Vishnu
Gupta, learned counsel for the appellant has relied upon the
judgment of the Kerala High Court in case titled "Sathy M. C.
and others Vs K. Venugopalan and others" 2021 ACJ 95.
10. For the reasons which can only be said to be not
Bonafide, it was nowhere pleaded in the claim petition by the
respondent No. 1 - Dr. Madhu Khullar as to whether her
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husband Rajesh Khullar was the sole child/son of his parents.
Therefore, for this omission on her part, the respondent No. 1
- Dr. Madhu Khullar could not have been made beneficiary of
1/3rd part of awarded compensation which was meant to be
payable to the aged mother of victim - Rajesh Khullar.
11. With respect to 1/3rd portion of compensation which
was meant to be payable to the mother of deceased Rajesh
Khullar, this Court can take a judicial notice that by the time
this appeal is getting adjudicated, the aged mother of deceased
Rajesh Khullar might have left for heavenly abode thereby
leaving the respondent No. 1 - Dr. Madhu Khullar & Shagun
her legal heirs, so on that count it is the respondent No. 1 -
Dr. Madhu Khullar and her daughter Shagun who become the
beneficiary of said 1/3rd compensation amount, so by this
reference the payment of the compensation amount to stay as
it is as directed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal
(MACT), Jammu.
12. Therefore, the award dated 28.03.2014 in terms
whereof the respondent No. 1 - Dr. Madhu Khullar and her
daughter Shagun have been held entitled to 50% each of
compensation of Rs.25,72,000/-, by the Motor Accident
Claims Tribunal (MACT), Jammu in favour of the respondent
No. 1 and her daughter to be apportioned in the manner as
directed along with interest at the rate awarded and the award
dated 28.03.2014 being held valid.
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13. The appeal is, therefore, disposed of.
14. The detailed judgment is following the order dated
18.12.2023 vide which the appeal was ordered to be allowed
as hereby being done.
(Rahul Bharti)
Judge
Jammu
08.05.2025
Muneesh
Whether the judgment is speaking : Yes / No
Whether the judgment is reportable: : Yes / No
