Madras High Court
M/S.Reliance General Insurance ... vs S.Kala on 23 April, 2021
CMA No.1440 of 2021
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
DATED : 23.04.2021
CORAM
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE R. SUBBIAH
and
THE HONOURABLE MRS. JUSTICE S. KANNAMMAL
C.M.A. No.1440 of 2021
and
CMP.No.7507 of 2021
M/s.Reliance General Insurance Co. Ltd.,
No.6, 4th Floor, Haddows Road,
Chennai 600 006. .. Appellant
Versus
1. S.Kala
2. Sekar
3. Prema
4. V.Sambathkumar .. Respondents
Civil Miscellaneous Appeal filed under Section 173 of Motor Vehicles
Act, 1988 against the judgment and decree dated 03.09.2019 made in
MCOP.No.3323 of 2016 on the file of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal /
IV Court of Small Causes, Chennai.
For appellant : Mr.S.Arunkumar
For respondents
for RR1 to 3 : Mr.K.Varadha Kamaraj
for R4 : Set ex-parte before the Tribunal
JUDGMENT
(The Judgment of the Court was delivered by R.Subbiah, J)
The appeal is heard through video conferencing.
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CMA No.1440 of 2021
2. The present appeal has been filed by the Insurance Company
questioning the quantum of compensation awarded by Motor Accident Claims
Tribunal / IV Court of Small Causes, Chennai in MCOP.No.3323 of 2016
dated 03.09.2019.
3. By consent of both the parties, the appeal is taken up for final
disposal at the admission stage itself.
4. The respondents 1 to 3/claimants are the parents and unmarried sister
of the deceased Prasanth. It is the case of the respondents 1 to 3/claimants that
on 20.03.2016, at about 9.00 pm, while the deceased Prasanth, wearing helmet,
was riding a Motorcycle bearing Registration No.TN-19-BC-1612 on the
Thozhupedu Overbridge in Kancheepuram District, a Lorry bearing
Registration No.TN-19-J-6066, belonging to the fourth respondent, came in
the opposite direction being driven by its driver in a rash and negligent manner
and dashed against the said two wheeler driven by the deceased. Due to the
impact, the deceased was thrown out of the vehicle and he sustained head
injury and died on the spot.
5. It is the further case of the respondents 1 to 3/claimants that the
deceased was working as Supervisor in a Private Limited Company and
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CMA No.1440 of 2021
earning a sum of Rs.18,000/- per month. Due to the sudden demise of the
deceased, the respondents 1 to 3/claimants have not only lost the love and
affection of the deceased, but also his income. Hence, they filed a claim
petition seeking for a sum of Rs.50,00,000/- as compensation.
6. The claim petition was resisted by the appellant/Insurance Company
by filing a counter statement denying the manner of the accident as projected
by the claimants in the claim petition. They also denied the avocation and
income mentioned in the claim petition. Thus, they sought for dismissal of the
claim petition.
7. In order to prove the averments in the claim petition, on the side of
the claimants, the first claimant/mother of the deceased was examined as PW1
and one M.Jaganathan, an eye witness to the accident was examined as PW2
and Exs.P1 to P9 were marked. On the side of the Insurance Company, neither
any witness was examined or any document was marked.
8. The Tribunal after analysing the entire evidence came to the
conclusion that the accident occurred due to the rash and negligent driving of
the said Lorry. By coming to such conclusion, the Tribunal awarded a sum of
Rs.21,54,400/- as compensation and directed the appellant/Insurance Company
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CMA No.1440 of 2021
to pay the above compensation. The break-up details of the amount awarded
by the Tribunal under various heads are as follows:
S. No. Heads under which the compensation is Amounts awarded by the
awarded Tribunal in Rs.
1 Loss of Dependency 18,14,000
2 Loss of Estate 15,000
3 Funeral Expenses 15,000
4 Loss of Love and Affection 3,00,000
5 Transportation Expenses 10,000
Total 21,54,000
9. Though very many contentions have been raised in this appeal, the
main contention raised by the learned counsel for the appellant/Insurance
Company is that the Tribunal, while awarding compensation under the head
"Loss of Love and Affection", had granted an excessive sum of Rs.3,00,000/-
by awarding a sum of Rs.1,00,000/- to each of the claimants. As per the
oft-quoted judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of National Insurance
Company Limited vs. Pranay Sethi and others [(2017) 16 SCC 680], a sum of
Rs.40,000/- only has to be awarded to each of the legal heirs of the deceased
towards "Loss of Love and Affection". Hence, the amount awarded by the
Tribunal under the head "Loss of Love and Affection" has to be set aside and
re-calculated by awarding a sum of Rs.40,000/- to each of the claimant.
10. The learned counsel appearing for the respondents 1 to 3/claimants
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CMA No.1440 of 2021
have no objection for the above modification.
11. In view of the above submissions, the sum of Rs.3,00,000/- awarded
by the Tribunal under the head "Loss of Love and Affection" is set aside.
Instead a sum of Rs.1,20,000/- is awarded under such head by awarding
Rs.40,000/- to each of the claimants. The amounts awarded by the Tribunal
under all the other heads are just and fair and hence, they are confirmed.
12. The total compensation is re-determined as mentioned below:
S. Heads under which the Amounts awarded by Amounts awarded by
No. compensation is awarded the Tribunal in Rs. this Court in Rs.
1 Loss of Dependency 18,14,000 18,14,000
2 Loss of Estate 15,000 15,000
3 Funeral Expenses 15,000 15,000
4 Loss of Love and Affection 3,00,000 1,20,000
5 Transportation Expenses 10,000 10,000
Total 21,54,000 19,74,000
13. Thus, the total compensation of Rs.21,54,000/- awarded by the
Tribunal is hereby reduced to Rs.19,74,000/-, which shall carry interest at
7.5% from the date of claim petition till the date of payment. The Insurance
Company is directed to deposit the total compensation awarded by this Court
before the Tribunal, after adjusting the amount if any already deposited, within
a period of six weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this judgment. On
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CMA No.1440 of 2021
such deposit, the claimants are permitted to withdraw their respective shares.
The apportionment of shares as fixed by the Tribunal to the claimants is
hereby confirmed.
14. With the above observations and directions, the Civil Miscellaneous
Petition is partly allowed. Consequently, connected miscellaneous petition is
closed. No costs.
[R.P.S., J] [S.K., J]
23.04.2021
Speaking Order : Yes / No
Index : Yes / No
pvs/rsh
To
1. The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal /
IV Court of Small Causes, Chennai
2. The Section Officer,
V.R.Section, High Court, Madras.
https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis/
CMA No.1440 of 2021
R. SUBBIAH, J
and
S. KANNAMMAL, J
pvs
C.M.A. No.1440 of 2021
and
CMP.No.7507 of 2021
23.04.2021
https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis/
