Dismissed¶61

Reliance General Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Parvathi

Madras HC8 Jun 2026CMA(MD)/43/2026

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

pay and recover; invalid driving licence; Section 173 Motor Vehicles Act 1973 appeal; Reliance General Insurance Co. Ltd.; M.C.O.P.No.704 of 2016 Tiruchirapalli; fatal accident 08.12.2015 Indica car capsized; FIR Crime No.391 of 2015; compensation Rs.20,45,057/- with 7.5% interest upheld; loss of dependency; future prospects; CMA(MD)No.517 of 2025 batch dated 01.06.2026 followed; appeal dismissed; Madurai Bench of Madras High Court; N.Anand Venkatesh and S.Srimathy JJ.

What did the court decide?

None to the appellant; claimants entitled to withdraw the compensation amount in the proportion fixed by the Tribunal; connected Miscellaneous Petition (CMP.(MD).No.624 of 2026) closed; no costs. ¶61

Reliance General Insurance Co. Ltd. Vs Parvathi — Motor Accident Claims | Madras HC (2026)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

None to the appellant; claimants entitled to withdraw the compensation amount in the proportion fixed by the Tribunal; connected Miscellaneous Petition (CMP.(MD).No.624 of 2026) closed; no costs.

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Issue for consideration

Whether the Tribunal erred in directing pay and recover although the driver of the offending vehicle did not possess a valid driving licence. +1 more

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Court's answer

The appellant's ground that pay and recover ought not to have been ordered for want of a valid driving licence is squarely covered by this Court's judgment in the batch of appeals in CMA.(MD).No.517 of 2025 etc., dated 01.06.2026.

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Ratio / Principle

This Court finds no illegality in the Tribunal's order applying the principle of pay and recover.

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Key takeaways

The Tribunal fixed a fair and just compensation which does not require the interference of this Court.ratio¶55
The Civil Miscellaneous Appeal stands dismissed; the claimants are entitled to withdraw the compensation amount in the proportion fixed by the Tribunal; no costs; the connected Miscellaneous Petition is closed.ratio¶61

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Civil Miscellaneous Appeal under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1973 by Reliance General Insurance Co. Ltd. against the award dated 28.03.2024 of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Special District Court No.1, Tiruchirapalli in M.C.O.P.No.704 of 2016. The Tribunal had awarded Rs.20,45,057/- with interest at 7.5% per annum (heads: loss of dependency Rs.13,82,184/-; future prospects Rs.5,52,873/-; loss of love and affection Rs.80,000/-; funeral expenses Rs.15,000/-; loss of estate Rs.15,000/-) for the death of a passenger in an Indica car that was driven rashly and negligently, hit the median and capsized on 08.12.2015 (FIR Crime No.391 of 2015), and had ordered pay and recover because the driver did not possess a valid driving licence. Held: the challenge to the pay and recover direction is squarely covered by this Court's judgment in the batch of appeals in CMA.(MD).No.517 of 2025 etc., dated 01.06.2026; no illegality is found in the Tribunal applying the pay and recover principle; the quantum is found fair and just and requires no interference. Appeal dismissed; claimants entitled to withdraw the compensation in the proportions fixed by the Tribunal; connected miscellaneous petition closed; the entire award amount had already been deposited before the Tribunal.

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C.M.A(MD)No.43 of 2026

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BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT

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DATED : 08.06.2026

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CORAM:

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THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE N.ANAND VENKATESH AND THE HON'BLE MRS JUSTICE S.SRIMATHY

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C.M.A(MD)No.43 of 2026 and

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CMP.(MD).No.624 of 2026

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Reliance General Insurance Co. Ltd., PLA Kanagu Towers, 10^th Cross, Thillai Nagar, Trichy – 18

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... Appellant

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Vs.

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1.Parvathi

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W/o. Gunasekaran

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2.Gunasekaran

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S/o. Raamachandran

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3.Thirumurugan

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S/o. Gunasekaran

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4.Thirukumaran S/o. Gunasekaran

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5.Gayathri

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D/o. Gunasekaran

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https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis

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C.M.A(MD)No.43 of 2026

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6.Samna

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W/o. (Late) Harikrishnan

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... Respondents

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PRAYER:- Civil Miscellaneous Appeal filed under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1973, to set aside the award dated 28.03.2024 passed in M.C.O.P.No.704 of 2016 on the file of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Special District Court No.1 to deal with MCOP cases, Tiruchirapalli and allow the Civil Miscellaneous Appeal and thus render justice.

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For Appellant : Mr.K.R.Shivashankari For Respondents : No Appearance

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J U D G M E N T

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(Judgment of the Court was delivered by N.ANAND VENKATESH, J.)

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This appeal has been filed by the Insurance Company

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challenging the award passed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Special District Court No.1 to deal with MCOP cases, Tiruchirapalli in M.C.O.P.No.704 of 2016 dated 28.03.2024.

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The respondents are the claimants. The first and second

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respondents are the parents of the deceased, the third to fifth respondents

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https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis

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C.M.A(MD)No.43 of 2026

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are the siblings of the deceased. The case of the respondents is that on 08.12.2015, at about 12.00 Hrs., the deceased was travelling as a copasseneger in an Indica car belonging to the sixth respondent. At that point of time, the driver of the sixth respondent vehicle drove it in a rash

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and negligent manner, rammed over the median and the vehicle subsequently capsized, as a result of which, the deceased sustained fatal injuries and succumbed to the same on the way to the Government Hospital, Dindigul. An FIR came to be registered in Crime No. 391 of 2015. It is under these circumstances, the claim petition came to be filed before the tribunal.

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The Tribunal, on considering the facts and circumstances of

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the case and on appreciation of oral and documentary evidence, came to a conclusion that the accident had taken place due to the rash and negligent driving on the part of the driver of the offending vehicle belonging to the sixth respondent.

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Having rendered the above finding, the Tribunal proceeded to determine the compensation amount in the following manner:

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https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis

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C.M.A(MD)No.43 of 2026

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Head	Amount
Loss of Dependency	Rs.13,82,184/-
Future Prospects	Rs. 5,52,873/-
Loss of love and affection	Rs. 80,000/-
Funeral Expenses	Rs. 15,000/-
Loss of Estate	Rs. 15,000/-
Total	Rs.20,45,057/-

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The above compensation amount of Rs.20,45,057/- was directed to be paid along with interest at the rate of 7.5% per annum from the date of the petition. However considering the fact that the driver of the offending vehicle did not possess a valid driving license, pay and recover was ordered.

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The Insurance Company has filed the present appeal mainly on the ground that the driver of the offending vehicle did not possess a valid driving license and therefore, pay and recover ought not to have been ordered.

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This Court carefully considered the submissions made by the learned counsel appearing for the appellant and also the award passed by

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https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis

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C.M.A(MD)No.43 of 2026

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the Tribunal.

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The ground that was taken by the learned counsel appearing for the appellant is to the effect that the Tribunal ought not to have ordered for pay and recover. The said ground is squarely covered by the judgment of this Court in a batch of appeals in CMA.(MD).No.517 of 2025 etc, dated 01.06.2026. Hence, this Court does not find any illegality in the order passed by the Tribunal applying the principle of pay and recover.

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Insofar as the quantum of compensation is concerned, this

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Court finds that the Tribunal has fixed a fair and just compensation and it does not require the interference of this Court.

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It is brought to the notice of this Court by the learned

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counsel appearing for the Insurance Company that the entire award amount has already been deposited before the Tribunal.

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https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis

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C.M.A(MD)No.43 of 2026

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In the result, this Civil Miscellaneous Appeal stands dismissed. The claimants will be entitled to withdraw the compensation amount in the proportion as fixed by the Tribunal. No costs. Consequently connected Miscellaneous Petition is closed.

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[N.A.V., J.] [S.S.Y., J.] 08.06.2026 NCC :Yes/No Index :Yes/No RR To 1.The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Special District Court No.1 Tiruchirapalli. 2.The Record Keeper (Vernacular Records), Madurai Bench of Madras High Court, Madurai.

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https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis

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C.M.A(MD)No.43 of 2026

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N. ANAND VENKATESH,J. AND S.SRIMATHY,J.

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C.M.A(MD)No.43 of 2026

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