Allowed

Kurma Saya Gonda, Tadkole [v], Nizamabad Dist., and 5 Otrs. v. Sri Shanker, and Anr.

Telangana HC2 Mar 2023MACMA/2296/2009

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

The High Court allowed an appeal against an MACT decree, enhancing compensation for death in a motor accident. The Court adjusted income figures based on precedent and awarded Rs.10,66,420/- including future prospects and consortium damages with interest at 7.5% p.a.

What did the court decide?

Compensation enhanced to Rs.10,66,420/- carrying interest at 7.5% p.a.; Insurance Company to deposit within eight weeks without security.

Kurma Saya Gonda, Tadkole [v], Nizamabad Dist., and… — Motor Accident Claims | Telangana HC (2023)

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[³²³⁰ ]

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IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE^{OF TELANGANA} AT HYDERABAD

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THURSDAY, THE SECOND DAY OF MARCH TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY THREE

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PRESENT

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THE HONOURABLE SMT JUSTICE LALITHA KANNEGANTI

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MOTOR ACCIDENT GIVIL MISCELLANEOUS AP^{PEAL NO: 2296 OF 2009}

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Appeal filed Under Section 173 of M.V.Act,^{aggrieved against the decree} arrd order dated 19-.1-2009^passed in O.P.No.^{295 of 2OO5 on the file of the court} oi the Motor Accident Claim Tribunal^{(Vlll AdditionalDistrict Judge)at} N rza mabad

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Between:

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1 Kurma Saya Gonda S/o. Veera Gonda,^{aged about 64 years, Occ:Nil}

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Kurma Sayavva, Wo. K Saya Gonda,^{aged59 years,OccHousehold}

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K(1rma Gangamani Wo. Late K. Sailu @^{Saya Gonda, aged 39 years,Occ:} Household

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4 Kurma Gangadhar S/o Late^K Sailu @^{Saya Gonda, aged 17 years'}

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Kurma Mahender, S/o.^{Late K. Sailu} @^{Saya Gonda, aged 14 years,}

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Kurma Kalavathi, D/o. Late K Sailu @^{Saya Gonda,aged 12 yea(s} All are Rl/o. Tadkole^(V), Banswada^{(M), District Nizamabad.}

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(Appellants 4 to 6 are minors,, Claiming^{Compensation under} ,,the buirdianship of their^{mother, natural guardian and next friend i.e. Appellant} No 3)

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..,APPELLANTS/PETITIONERS

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AND

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Sri Shanker S/o. Sinqva,^{aged Major, Owner of Jeep BearingNo AP-25-E-} Saoa R/o Pothareddirjattv^{(V), Pitldm(M), District Nizamabad'}

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The New lndia Assurance^{Co, Ltd.,through its Branch ManagerKamareddy,} District Nizamabad

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...RESPONDENTS

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Counsel for the^{Appellants: SRl. LAKKADI DAYAKER REDDY}

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Counsel for the^{Respondent No. 1: NONEAPPEARED}

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counsel for the^{Respondent No.2: M/s. P. SATYA MANJULA}

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'l'he Court made the following: ORDER

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IION'I] I,Ii SMT. JUS'TICE LALITIIN KA NFIE(;,{NTI

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l{.,,.C.M.A.No.2296 o1' 2(X)!)

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JUDGN,II.]N1'

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'1-liis a-t1:,:i I rs preferrcd by the claintarrtsrapp,..llants irggrievcd by tl.re juclgnrenl irr.r<l decrec clatcd 19.01.20()9 p:rsr.ied b1r the Motor Accid cr-r ts (_' lrirns^'l'ribunal (VIII Additional I)istrict .Iudge) at Nizarnabad (tt: short.'the Tribur.ral') in O.P.No.2!):j o12005, whereby the Triburral l.,Ls gr-anted only an amount of I{s.4,22.000/- lbr the death of t1.re rleccas,cr I.lurma Sailu (! Saya Cionda i11 rr trc [or acciclent against the clainrcd irrt,lrnt of Rs.12,00,000/-.

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Tlrc blie lacts of rhc case are that on fi.A?..20r),1 the deceased rvas goine orL L is bicycle to his house on left sidc of thc road and when he reachcrl che ,k post in the limits of l-adkol: r,illir! e. rL jecp belonging to tl-re l'' rcslt rr dent catne llt opposite din:clior rrt tigh speed and dashed again;t lrc deceased and imrnetliately he t'e lt down lnd the jeep ran ovcr ltir-n ,ausing serious injuries.^'fhr_' tlece:.rserl was taken to Goverrrrncnt IJ rt.,pital. Banswada and then to NrlN4S at t{yderabad where he succurrbcd to the said injuries on 22.02..1()04^'l-lie deceased was agccl ab,tr.r 38 years and carning an arlorlrrl .rl- 1s. l-5,000/- per r-nonth by t r-ri1iv rt ion and shcep and other busitress

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.,4'

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3' The 1"'respondent remained ex parte before the Tribunal and the 2nd respondent/Insurance co,rpany rrled counter denying alr the averments as to the occurrence of the accident and disputed the claim of the claimants for compensation.

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On behalf of the claimants, pWs.l to 3 were examined and got marked Exs.A, I to A.5. On behalf of the respondent Corporation, RW.l was examined and got marked Ex.B.l.

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5' 'The Tribunal on anaryzing the evidence held that the accident occurred on account of the rash and negrigent driving of the driver of the jeep and awarded an amount of Rs.4,42,000/- with interest at 90% p.a. from the date of petition till the date of realization.

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Sri L.Dayakar Reddy, learned counsel for the claimants/appellants, submits that the Tribunal has taken the income of the deceased at Rs.3,500/-. when trre claimants were examined as PWs.l and 3 to show that the deceased was earning an amount of Rs'15,000/- per month, the said evidence was not considered by the Tribunal. It is submitted that the age of trre deceased is 3g years at the time of accident, but the Tribunal has taken his age as 40. It is

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submittec th:L rrnder the other conventional l-readr;, the amounts that were grante(l r,1, the Trrltunal were very meilger;tntol:nts, as such, the claimants ar: I e lore this Court.

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Smt.P.Si tr a Manjula, learned counsel trppearing lor the lnsurance Compan1,, s,:l: nits that though the deceased was :urning an amount of Rs.15,00(),r- pe rnonth, no evidence is let in and the lribunal has rightly taken the inr-:o n,: of the deceased as Rs.3,50r)/-. IrLrrther. when there is no other^(rvid€ ,oe in prool of age of the dec easrxl., the, 'fribunal has to look at the i rc uest report and the inquel;t reJ)(l,rl. reveals that the deceased was^.{0 years old and Tribunal has tal, en the age as 40. Taking all t'.rr:^.re into consideration, the Tritrunal l- as granted just and reasonable r:o nPensatior-r and the claimants faill:<. to make out any grounds seellir q interlcrence of this Court.

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Heard le LrLred cou.sel on either side a,d pe.rse<l the material on record,

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9 ]'he Trib,'ral has rightly'taken the age.f the cecc,ased as 40 years as per thr: i nc rrost report, as there was no othr:r rna,_erial on record. Coming t,.) tl-'tt: ittct:rme of {he-deceased, as it is s1etr:d that the deceased

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r. r..l:::;

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was eaming an amount of Rs.I5,000/- per month and no evidence has been let in, in support of the same. The Tribunal has taken Rs.3,500i per month as the income of the deceased. This Court feels it appropriate to the ratio laid down in Ramachandrappa Vs. Manager, Royal Sundaram Alliancer, wherein the monthly income of the agricultural labourer was taken as Rs.4,500/- per month in the absence of evidence.^{In this} case also, the income can be safely taken at Rs.4,500/-^{per month and as} at the time of accident the deceased was aged^about 40^{yeatsand 25%o} futui-e prospects would be Rs.1,125l-, then it would^{come to Rs,5,625l-.} As there are six claimants, who are^parents, wife^{and childrenof the} deceased, 1/4th has to be deducted towards^{personalexpenses,after} deduction the income would be Rs.4,219l-^(5,625x %:^{Rs.1,406/-)and} the multiplier for the age of 40 years is^{'15', then it comes to} Rs.1,59,42Ot- (Rs.4,219 x 12 x^{15) towardsloss of dependency.As per} the law laid by the Hon'ble Apex Court^{in NationalInsurance} Company Limited v. Pranay Sethi^{and others2, under the head of} consortium, the claimants are entitled to^{Rs.2,,64,000/- (Rs.44,0001} each) and Rs.33,000/- towards funeral^{expenses and loss} of^{estate.I r.t}

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1 (201 1) 13 SCC 236

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, (2017J 16 SCC 680

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all it corrre s Ir. ,. 0.56.42(l/-

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Lear,r:tl c.rrnsel 1br tlic appe llants/claim:r rtr; has relied on the judgmcnt 1.,ir: r;t.d by the I Ion,ble Apex Ctot r i r V,Mekala v.

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M.Malathi ar d another-r, w'herei.r the Hon'rrle A rr x ()ourr, taking into consideratio r h,: date o1' tire accident and till ther a1 rpeal reached to the Apex Courr, rrirs a*arded a sum of Rs..15.00(),- rowards cost of litigation. I Ir-'rr :e , iln amoLrnt of ns.10,000/- is avrirr,lcc tow.ards cost of I itigatio n.

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In tlre li1 h; 61' rn" r'rbove discussion, the clu;rr:an.s are entitled to the follou, ingl ir roLlnts:

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1	Lo;s,rl'dspsndency	Ii.s	7,59,420/-
2	(lor-rsltium	F	2,64,000/-
J	r.o:j\ )lejtate&luneralexpenses	t s	:r^j,000/-
4	l.it^p.;tior-rcharges	Fs	10,000/-
	.I'OTAL	R:;	.0,66,420/-

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In tltc r., sult, the appeal IS allor.r, ed itr 1^{r Lrte nhancing} the compensalror ! riror.lnt arvarded b1, the Tribunal [i:r n I1s.4,42,000/_ to 3 2014 [5) ALr) ] 2 (-(

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Rs.10,66,420l- (Rupees ten lakhs sixty six thousand four hundred and

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twenty only) as hereunder:

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(a) The enhanced amount shall carry interest at 7.5oh p.a from the date of petition till the date of realization.

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(b) The Insurance Company shall deposit the amount within a period of eight weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of the^judgment.

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(c) On such deposit, the claimants are entitled to withdraw their proportionate share of compensation as per the terms of the award without furnishing the security.

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Miscellaneous applications, pending if any, shall stand-closed.

Sd/-K.VENKA,IAH

ASSISTANT REGISTRAR

//TRUE COPYII /

SECTION OFFICER

1 The Motor Accident Claim Tribunal (Vlll Additional^{District Judge)at} Nizamabad (with records. if any)

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2 One CC to SRI LAKKADI DAYAKER REDDY, Advocate [OPUC]

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3 One CC to M/s. P. SATYA MANJULA, Advocate [OPUC]

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4 Two CD Copies

HIGH COURT

DATED: O2l03t?.023

JUDGMENT

MACMA.No.2296 of 2009

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MACMA ALLOWING^{IN PART}

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fr'k' frW

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IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AT HYDERABAD

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THURSDAY, THE SECOND DAY OF MARCH TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY THREE

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PRESENT

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THE HONOURABLE SMT JUSTICE LALITHA KANNEGANTI

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MOTOR ACCIDENT clvlL MISCELLANEOUS APPEAL NO: 2296 OF 2009

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Between:

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'1 . Kurma Saya Gonda S/o. Veera Gonda, aged about 64 years, Occ: Nil

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Kurma Sayavva, Wo. K. Saya Gonda, aged 59 years, Occ: Household

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3 Kurma Gangamani Wo. Late K. Sailu @ Saya Gonda, aged 39 years, Occ Household

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4 Kurma Gangadhar S/o. Late K. Sailu @ Saya Gonda, aged 17 years,

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5 Kurma Mahender, S/o Late K Sailu @ Saya Gonda, aged 14 years,

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6 Kurma Kalavathi, D/o. Late K Sailu @ Saya Gonda, aged 12yearc All are Ri/o Tadkole (V), Banswada (M), District Nizamabad.

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I (Appellants 4 to 6 are minors, Claiming Compensation under the Guardianship of therr nrother, natural guardian and next friend i.e. Appellant No 3)

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...APPELLANTS/PETITIONERS

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AND

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1 Srr Shanker S/o Singya, aged Major, Owner of Jeep Bearing No. AP-25-E5304 R/o. Pothareddypally (V), Pitlam (M), District Nizamabad.

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2 The New lndia Assurance Co. Ltd., through its Branch Manager Kamareddy, Drstrict Nizamabad.

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...RESPONDENTS

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Appeal filed Under Section 173 of M.V.Act, aggrieved against the decree and order dated 1 9-1 -2009 passed in O. P. No. 295 of 2OO5 on the file of the court of the Motor Accrdent Claim Tribunal (Vlll Additional District Judge) at N rzamabad

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This appeal coming on for hearing and upon perusing the Memorandum of Appeal, the order of the Lower Court and the material papers in the case, and upon i:..aring the arguments of Srr LAKKADI DAYAKER REDDY, Advocate for the ADpellant and M/s. P. SATYA MANJULA, Advocate, appeared for the respondent No.2 and none appeared for respondent no.1

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Decree: Thrs Court Doth order and Decree as here under:

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1 That the Vlo:or Arc dent Civrl Miscellaneous Appeirl be an, i here by is allowed

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rn pai't er hal r( r- I lhe -:or'rt pensation amount awalrdect b,, th: Tribunal from Rs 4,42 00C' r Rs 10 66.4201 (Rupees ten lal.hs si;ii, six thousand four hundred -.nc tr err ty on v).

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fhal the enlt:r c,)d amount shall carry interest at 7.5o1., pt a f -om the date of

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petition tr the a e ,rf real zatton.

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The lnsu'anct: C orrpany shall deposit the amou^-tt wrtlr r- a perrod of elght weeks frc n^ th-. o rte of recetpt of a copy of the jud-c ment,

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That on sl.t..i deposrt the clarmants are entitied o withdraw therr proportionate s rerre of conrpensation as per the terms lf the award without furnrshrng thr: : :r: urrty. and

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