The High Court allowed an appeal against an award of Rs. 1,62,000 for vehicle damage. Holding Section 147(2)(b) limits third-party liability to Rs. 6,000, the Court modified the Tribunal's award to Rs. 6,000.
The Tribunal's award was modified to limit compensation for property damage to Rs. 6,000.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
I N THE HI GH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDI GARH
FAO No. 3326 of 2012 ( O&M)
DATE OF DECI SI ON: 13. 12. 2019
The Or i ent al I nsur ance Company Li mi t ed
…. . Appel l ant
ver sus
Sukhbi r Si ngh and ot her s
. . . . . Respondent s
CORAM: - HON’ BLE MRS. JUSTI CE ALKA SARI N
Pr esent : Mr . Vi nod Chaudhr i , Advocat e f or t he appel l ant
ALKA SARI N, J. :
Thi s appeal has been pr ef er r ed by t he I nsur ance Company agai nst t he awar d passed by t he Mot or Acci dent Cl ai ms Tr i bunal , Yamuna Nagar at Jagadhr i dat ed 24. 02. 2012, par t l y al l owi ng t he cl ai m pet i t i on f i l ed by r espondent No. 1- Sukhbi r Si ngh by awar di ng hi m compensat i on t o t he t une of Rs. 1, 62, 000/ - f or t he damages caused t o hi s car i n an acci dent .
The br i ef f act s set out i n t he cl ai m pet i t i ons wer e t hat on 15. 01. 2011, Ji t ender Kumar , cl ai mant i n connect ed cl ai m pet i t i on, al ong wi t h one Gambhi r Si ngh had gone t o Radaur i n car bear i ng r egi st r at i on No. HR02- U- 5253. Af t er compl et i ng t hei r wor k, t hey wer e r et ur ni ng t o vi l l age Nachr on i n t he same car . When t hey r eached near Yamuna Br i dge, Radaur , one Ashok Kumar was st andi ng t her e t o go t o vi l l age. Sai d Ji t ender Kumar gave hi m l i f t i n hi s car . I t was f ur t her st at ed t hat when t hey r eached near ‘ T’ poi nt of Vi l l age Rat t angar h,
PARKASH CHAND 2019.12.16 10:00 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document
FAO- 3326- 2012
- 2 –
Dheer Si ngh, r espondent No. 2, whi l e dr i vi ng hi s t r act or - t r ol l ey i n a r ash and negl i gent manner and at a hi gh speed came f r om t he opposi t e di r ect i on and hi t t he car of Ji t ender Kumar f r om dr i ver si de due t o whi ch t he car st r uck agai nst a eucal ypt us t r ee. I t was f ur t her st at ed t hat due t o t he i mpact of t he acci dent , al l t he occupant s of t he car suf f er ed mul t i pl e gr i evous i nj ur i es on t hei r per sons and t he car of r espondent No. 1 Sukhbi r Si ngh bear i ng r egi st r at i on No. HR02- U- 5253 was al so ext ensi vel y damaged.
The shor t poi nt r ai sed i n t he pr esent appeal i s t hat as per sect i on 147 ( 2) ( b) of t he Mot or Vehi cl es Act , 1988, t her e i s a l i mi t of Rs. 6, 000/ - pr escr i bed. Lear ned counsel f or t he appel l ant submi t s t hat t he Tr i bunal has er r ed i n l aw i n awar di ng a sum of Rs. 1, 62, 000/ - as compensat i on on account of damages t o t he car of r espondent No. 1 and t he i mpugned awar d i s cont r ar y t o t he pr ovi si ons of l aw.
Sect i on 147 ( 2) ( b) of t he Mot or Vehi cl es Act r eads
as under : -
“ 147. Requi r ement s of pol i ci es and l i mi t s of l i abi l i t y . -
( 2) Subj ect t o t he pr ovi so t o sub- sect i on ( 1) , a pol i cy of i nsur ance r ef er r ed t o i n subsect i on ( 1) , shal l cover any l i abi l i t y i ncur r ed i n r espect of any acci dent , up t o t he f ol l owi ng l i mi t s, namel y-
( b) i n r espect of damage t o any pr oper t y of a t hi r d par t y, a l i mi t of r upees si x t housand:
PARKASH CHAND 2019.12.16 10:00 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document
FAO- 3326- 2012
- 3 –
Pr ovi ded t hat any pol i cy of i nsur ance i ssued wi t h any l i mi t ed l i abi l i t y and i n f or ce, i mmedi at el y bef or e t he commencement of t hi s Act , shal l cont i nue t o be ef f ect i ve f or a per i od of f our mont hs af t er such commencement or t i l l t he dat e of expi r y of such pol i cy whi chever i s ear l i er . ”
A per usal of t he above r epr oduced sect i on cl ear l y r eveal s t hat when a t hi r d par t y makes a cl ai m f or damages t o hi s vehi cl e, t her e i s a l i mi t of Rs. 6, 000/ - pr escr i bed under sect i on 147( 2) ( b) of t he Mot or Vehi cl es Act . Lear ned counsel f or t he r espondent i s unabl e t o count er t he sai d ar gument r ai sed by l ear ned counsel f or t he appel l ant .
I n vi ew of t he cl ear bar cont ai ned i n Sect i on 147( 2) ( b) of t he Mot or Vehi cl es Act , t he Tr i bunal cl ear l y er r ed i n awar di ng an amount of Rs. 1, 62, 000/ - as compensat i on t o t he r espondent on account of damage t o hi s car .
I n vi ew of t he above, t he or der of t he Tr i bunal i s modi f i ed t o t he ext ent t hat t he r espondent shal l be ent i t l ed t o an amount of Rs. 6, 000/ - as per t he pr ovi si ons of t he Mot or Vehi cl es Act , 1988.
The appeal i s di sposed of f wi t h t he above modi f i cat i on.
( ALKA SARI N) JUDGE
NOTE: Whet her speaki ng/ non- speaki ng: Speaki ng Whet her r epor t abl e: YES/ NO
PARKASH CHAND 2019.12.16 10:00 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document
2 issues framed by the court
Whether the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal erred in awarding Rs. 1,62,000 for property damage exceeding the statutory limit.
Whether Section 147(2)(b) of the Motor Vehicles Act prescribes a liability limit of Rs. 6,000 for property damage.
2 provisions across 1 enactments
Oriental Insurance Company Limited
Sukhbir Singh
Alka Sarin
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
