Pranav Pauly v. Reliance General Insurance Company Limited

# **`IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM`** # **`PRESENT`** ``` THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE ZIYAD RAHMAN A.A. TUESDAY, THE 19[TH] DAY OF SEPTEMBER 2023 / 28TH BHADRA, 1945 ``` ## **`MACA NO. 4101 OF 2019`** ``` OPMV 1576/2016 OF MOTOR ACCIDENT CLAIMS TRIBUNAL , ``` ## **`IRINJALAKUDA`** ## **`APPELLANT/PETITIONER:`** ``` PRANAV PAULY AGED 23 YEARS S/O.PAULY.M.P.MANJOORAN HOUSE, KOODAPUZHA DESOM, EAST CHALAKUDY VILLAGE, CHALAKUDY.P.O BY ADV A.N.SANTHOSH ``` ## **`RESPONDENT/3RD RESPONDENT:`** ``` RELIANCE GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED 2ND FLOOR, MANGALAM TOWERS, OPP. TOWN BUS STAND, T.B.ROAD, PALAKKAD-673641 ``` ``` ADV R AJITH KUMAR -SC ``` ``` THIS MOTOR ACCIDENT CLAIMS APPEAL HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 19.09.2023, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING: ``` M.A.C.A. No.4101/2019 : 2 : ## JUDGMENT The appellant is the claimant in OP(MV) No.1576/2016 on the file of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Irinjalakuda. 2. The aforesaid claim petition was submitted by the petitioner seeking compensation for the injuries sustained by him in a motor accident that occurred on 27.02.2016. According to him, the accident occurred when his motorcycle was hit by a pickup van bearing registration No.KL-64-A-4925 driven by the 1[st] respondent in the claim petition in a rash and negligent manner. The said vehicle was owned by the 2[nd] respondent in the claim petition and was insured with the 3[rd] respondent, the sole respondent in this appeal. According to the appellant, he was a B-Tech student at the relevant time and was aged 20 years. The monthly income claimed was `20,000/-. Consequent to the accident, the appellant sustained a physical disability, which was certified as 30% by the Doctor. As compensation, an amount of `3,50,000/- was claimed. M.A.C.A. No.4101/2019 : 3 : 3. The owner and driver did not appear, and they were set ex-parte. The respondent insurance company/3[rd] respondent in the claim petition filed a written statement admitting the coverage of the policy but disputed the liability on various grounds. They also disputed the negligence as well as the quantum of compensation. 4. The evidence in this case consists of Exts.A1 to A13 from the side of the appellant and from the side of the respondent, Exts.B1 and B2 were marked. After appreciating the materials placed on record, the tribunal arrived at a conclusion that the accident occurred due to the negligent driving of the pickup van, who is the 1[st] respondent in the claim petition and, therefore being the insurer of the said vehicle, the respondent herein was held to liable to pay the compensation. The quantum of compensation was fixed as `3,36,600/-, and the respondent herein was directed to deposit the said amount along with interest at the rate of 8% per annum. This appeal is submitted by the appellants in such circumstances, seeking enhancement of compensation. M.A.C.A. No.4101/2019 : 4 : 5. Heard Sri. A.N. Santhosh, the learned counsel appearing for the appellant and Sri. George A Cherian, the learned counsel appearing for the respondent insurance company. 6. One of the main contentions by the learned counsel for the appellant is with regard to the inadequacy of compensation for permanent disability. For the purpose of computing the same, the tribunal had taken the monthly income of the appellant as `7500/- and the physical disability was taken as 6.5%. The learned counsel for the appellant would submit that the monthly income and the percentage of disability adopted by the tribunal are inadequate and require reconsideration. 7. As far as the monthly income of `7500/- taken by the tribunal is concerned, I find some force in the contentions put forward by the learned counsel for the appellant. Admittedly, the appellant was a student aged 20 years who was studying for B- Tech course at the relevant time, which is a professional course. Considering the fact that the accident occurred in the year 2016, under no circumstances amount of `7500/- can be treated as a M.A.C.A. No.4101/2019 : 5 : reasonable monthly income in respect of a person who was undergoing studies for an Engineering Degree. In Ramakrishna Pillai v. The New India Assurance Company Ltd. [2015 (3) KLJ 750], a Division Bench of this Court has fixed `12,000/- as monthly income for an Engineering student in respect of an accident that occurred in the year 2004. In such circumstances, I deem it appropriate to fix an amount of `15000/- in this case, as the monthly income of the appellant to compute the compensation. 7. As regards the permanent disability taken by the tribunal, it is seen from the observations made by the award that the disability sustained by the appellant was dental disability, and the Doctor certified it as 13%. The tribunal, considering the fact that it was a dental disability which would not seriously affect the earning capacity of the appellant, reduced 50% of the same. The reasoning adopted by the tribunal appears to be justifiable, and therefore, I do not intend to interfere with the percentage of disability taken by the tribunal. Thus, reworking compensation with the revised monthly income, the additional amount under this M.A.C.A. No.4101/2019 : 6 : head would come to `1,05,300/- [(15000 x 12 x 18 x 6.5/100) – 105300]. 8. Another head which requires reconsideration is the amount awarded for loss of amenities, which is `25000/-. It is discernible from the records that the appellant had undergone inpatient treatment for 11 days, and the injuries sustained were also severe in nature. It also resulted in some physical disability, as already observed by the tribunal. In such circumstances, taking note of the aforesaid aspects and also the fact that the accident occurred in the year 2016, a further sum of `25,000/towards the loss of amenities, is awarded. 8. Consequent to the revision of monthly income, the appellant would also be entitled to a further amount under the head of loss of earnings. The amount awarded by the tribunal under this head is for a period of four months. Consequent to the revision of monthly income, a further sum of `30,000/- would become payable. Thus, the total amount receivable by the appellant, in addition to the amount already fixed by the tribunal, would come to `1,60,300/-. M.A.C.A. No.4101/2019 : 7 : In the light of the above observations and findings, this appeal is allowed, the award dated 29.03.2019 in OP(MV) No.1576/2016 passed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Irinjalakuda, is hereby modified by granting an additional amount of `1,60,300/- (Rupees one lakh sixty thousand and three hundred only) and the said amount shall be deposited by the respondent insurance company with interest at the rate as ordered by the tribunal with proportionate costs within a period of three months from the date of receipt of a copy of this judgment. Sd/ZIYAD RAHMAN A.A. JUDGE ncd M.A.C.A. No.4101/2019 : 8 : ## **`APPENDIX OF MACA 2261/2009`** ``` PETITIONER ANNEXURES Annexure ATRUE COPY OF THE MEDICAL CERTIFICATE DATED 26.11.2013 ```