IN THE PRINCIPAL MOTOR ACCIDENTS CLAIMS TRIBUNAL,
RANGA REDDY DISTRICT.
Present: Smt.G.Udaya Gouri, M.Com., L.L.M., FAC Chairman-cum-Prl.District Judge.
Wednesday, the 7 th day of January, 2015.
M.V.O.P. 1076/2013
Between:
1.Smt.Chinta Yellamma, W/o.Ch.Yadagiri, Aged 42 years, Occ: House-wife,
2.Ch.Yadagiri, S/o.Ch.Venkaiah, Aged 45 years, Occ: Nil,
3.Ch.Mogulaiah, S/o.Ch.Yadagiri, Aged 18 years, Occ: Nil,
All are R/o.Room No.24, Rajiv Gruhakalpa,
Papireddy Colony, Chandanagar, Hyderabad. ...Petitioners
AND
1.K.Venkanna, S/o.K.Sathaiah, Aged: Major, Occ: Business, 2-79, Nemikall (V), Atmakur (M), Suryapet, Nalgonda Dist., A.P.
2.M/s.National Insurance Co.Ltd., Rep.by its Manager, 3rd Floor, Regency House, Somajiguda, Hyderabad-500 004. …Respondents
Policy No.35100731126203255524 Valid Date : From 28.02.2013 to 27.02.2014
This petition is coming up before me for final hearing on 5.01.2014 in the presence of Sri R.Nageswara Reddy, Counsel for the petitioners, Sri P.V.R.Mohana Rao, Counsel for R2, R1 having remained ex parte and upon hearing both sides and perusal of the material on record, this Court made the following:
JUDGMENT
This is a petition filed U/s.166 r/w Rule 455 of 1989 of the Motor
Vehicles Act, 1988.
2. The averments made in the petition are as follows:- 2
The petitioners stated that one Chintha Mallesh, who is the son of petitioners No.1 & 2 and the brother of petitioner No.3, was a resident of
Rajiv Gruhakalpa, Chandanagar, R.R.District and was earning Rs.12,000/- p.m as a Supervisor in Tirumala Borewells & Agencies of Devaruppal
Village, Warangal and was aged about 25 years and that on 18.12.2013, the said Chintha Mallesh was proceeding on a Hero Honda Motor Bike bearing No.AP 24 AV 1431 as a pillion rider and when he reached near the culvert at Durgamma Temple at about 11.00 P.M, the rider of the said vehicle drove the same at a high speed, rash and negligent manner as such fell in the ditch at the said culvert, hence, the pillion rider Chintha
Mallesh received grievous injuries as such he was shifted to Janagama
Area Hospital and then to the NIMS Hospital for better treatment, but succumbed to the injuries suffered in the accident on 20-12-2013 at about 1.30 P.M. Hence, the concerned police registered a case in
Cr.No.312/2013 U/s.304-A IPC.
The petitioners contended that the deceased was hale and healthy prior to the date of accident and was contributing his monthly income of
Rs.12,000/- for the running of their family and as a result of the untimely death of the said Chintha Mallesh, the petitioners, who were depending on his earnings, not only suffered from pain, shock and agony, but have also suffered from loss of financial support apart from incurring medical expenses. Hence, contended that they are entitled for a compensation of
Rs.10,00,000/-. They further stated that the respondent No.1, being the owner and rider of the motorcycle bearing No.AP 24 AV 1431, and the respondent No.2, with whom the said motor cycle is insured, vide policy
No.35100731126203255524, are liable to pay them the compensation 3 jointly and severally. Hence, prayed that the respondents be directed to pay the said compensation.
3. The respondent No.1 remained exparte, while the respondent No.2 filed the counter denying the averments made by the petitioners. They contended that the accident was not due to the negligence on the part of the rider of the motorcycle bearing No.AP 24AV 1431, but it was due to the negligence of the deceased himself, who was proceeding on the motorcycle as a pillion rider. They pointed out that the rider of the motorcycle neither had the driving licence nor had the permit for riding the same. They also denied that the deceased Mallesh suffered injuries in the accident and as such, succumbed to the same. They further denied the age and income of the deceased apart from denying that the petitioners were dependent upon his income. They contended that since the negligence was on the part of the deceased himself, the question of the respondent
No.2 being liable to pay the compensation does not arise. They further claimed that the compensation claimed by the petitioners is not only without any basis, but is also exorbitant. Hence, prayed that the petition be dismissed.
4. On the basis of the said averments by both sides, the Court framed the following issue.
Whether the petitioners are entitled to a compensation of Rs.10,00,000/- from respondents 1 & 2 for causing death of Mr.Chintha Mallesh in a motor vehicular accident that occurred on 18.12.2013 at 11.00 P.M in front of Mondrai Durgamma Temple falling under the jurisdiction of P.S.Kodakandla, Warangal Rural, due to rash, negligent and high speed riding of Hero Honda Motor Bike bearing No.AP 24 AV 1431, by its rider.
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5. In support of the claim, the petitioners examined the petitioner No.2 as PW1 and another witness as PW2 apart from marking Exs.A1 to A7 consisting of FIR, Charge Sheet, Inquest Panchanama, Crime Details Form with Rough Sketch, MVI Report, Postmortem Report and Original Salary
Certificate. The respondents not chosed to adduce any oral evidence but marked Ex.B1 i.e copy of the Insurance Policy.
6. For the purpose of convenience, this Court reframed the issues as follows:- (1) Whether the accident dt.18.12.2013 was due to rash and negligent driving of the Hero Honda Motor Bike bearing No.AP 24 AV 1431 by its driver ?
(2) Whether the petitioners are entitled for compensation and if so, to what amount and from whom ?
(3) To what relief ?
7. ISSUE No.1: The contention of the petitioners is that the accident took place on 18.12.2013 due to rash and negligent driving of the Hero
Honda Motorcycle bearing No.AP 24 AV 1431. The respondents on the
other hand denied the same and suggested that the negligence was on the part of the deceased himself, who was riding the motorcycle negligently without following the traffic rules.
8. In the face of the said contentions by both sides, this Court perused the evidence on record and found that the petitioner No.2, who is the father of the deceased Mallesh, examined himself as PW1 and reiterated the contentions of the petitioners that on 18.12.2013 their son i.e the deceased
Chintha Mallesh was proceeding on the motorcycle bearing No.AP 24 AV 1431 along with the respondent No.1, who was the owner of the said motorcycle, but the respondent No.1 rode the said motorcycle at a high speed, in a rash and negligent manner and as such, they fell in a ditch near 5
Mondrai Durgamma Temple at about 11.00 P.M. He contended that he has filed the documents in support of the same. PW2, who is stated to be employer of the deceased and eye witness to the accident, supported the contention of the petitioners with regard to the accident.
9. A perusal of the documentary evidence adduced by the petitioners in support of their oral evidence adduced through PWs.1 & 2, this Court finds that Ex.A1, which is the FIR, clearly shows that the accident took place on 18.12.2013 at about 11.00 A.M involving the deceased Chintha Mallesh, the motorcycle bearing No.AP 24 AV 1431 and the respondent No.1 herein.
While a perusal of Ex.A2 i.e the Charge Sheet filed by the police along the
Crime Details Form i.e Ex.A4 and the M.V.I Report marked as Ex.A5 show that the concerned police have investigated into the accident and found that the negligence was entirely on the part of the rider of the motorcycle bearing No.AP 24 AV 1431 and hence, the accident occurred near the ditch at Mondrai Durgamma Temple and the report of the MVI i.e Ex.A5 shows that the said accident was not due to any mechanical defect.
10. Thus, the contents of Ex.A1-FIR establishes that the accident took place on 18.12.2013, Ex.A2- Crime Details Form establishes that the accident took place at Mondrai Durgamma Temple, while the Charge
Sheet-Ex.A2 and MVI Report-Ex.A5 establish that the accident was entirely due to the negligence on the part of the rider of the motorcycle bearing
No.AP 24 AV 1431 and not due to any mechanical defect. The said evidence adduced by the petitioners is neither countered nor rebutted by the respondents. The respondent No.2, who contended that the negligence was on the part of the deceased himself, failed to adduce any oral or documentary evidence to that effect. Hence, this Court concludes that the 6 oral evidence of PW1 coupled with the documentary evidence marked as
Exs.A1, A2, A4 & A5 clearly established that the accident that took place on 18.12.2013 was entirely due to the negligence on the part of the rider of the motorcycle bearing No.AP 24 AV 1431. Hence, decides this issue in favour of the petitioners.
11. ISSUE No.2: The contention of the petitioners is that in the accident that took place on 18.12.2013 due to the negligence of the rider of the motorcycle bearing No.AP 24 AV 1431, the son of the petitioners No.1 & 2 and the brother of the petitioner No.3 namely Chintha Mallesh suffered injuries and died two days later while undergoing treatment and as such, they not only suffered from pain, shock and agony, but have also suffered from loss of financial, emotional, social and moral support apart from incurring medical expenses and hence, they are entitled for a compensation of Rs.10,00,000/-.
12. A perusal of the evidence on record shows that the petitioners through their oral evidence of PWs.1 & 2 and the documents marked as
Exs.A1, A2, A4 and A5 have already established that the accident took place on 18-12-2013 due to the negligence on the part of the rider of the motorcycle bearing No.AP 24 AV 1431. The petitioners further filed copy of the Inquest Report vide Ex.A3 and the Postmortem Report vide Ex.A6. A perusal of the contents of the said two documents clearly establish that in the accident that took place on 18-12-2013 as shown under Ex.A1 due to the negligence of the rider of the motorcycle bearing No.AP 24 AV 1431 as shown under Ex.A2, the son of the petitioners 1 & 2 and the brother of the petitioner No.3 namely Chintha Mallesh suffered injuries and succumbed to the said injuries while undergoing treatment at HIMS Hospital and the said 7 evidence adduced by the petitioners is neither countered nor rebutted by the respondents. A perusal of Ex.A3-Inquest Report and A6-Postmortem
Report admittedly shows that the said Chintha Mallesh suffered injuries on 18.12.2013 and succumbed to the said injuries on 20.12.2013. The said evidence adduced by the petitioners is neither countered nor rebutted by the respondents. Hence, the Court concludes that since the son of the petitioners No.1 & 2 and the brother of the petitioner No.3 suffered injuries and died as a result of the accident due to the negligence on the part of the rider of the motorcycle bearing No.AP 24 AV 1431, the petitioners are entitled for compensation.
13. The contention of the petitioners is that the deceased Chintha
Mallesh, who is son of the petitioners 1 & 2 and brother of the petitioner
No.3, was aged 25 years on the date of the accident and was earning
Rs.12,000/- p.m as a Supervisor in a Private Firm. The respondents on the other hand denied the same and pointed out that the petitioners neither filed any date of birth certificate nor adduced any authentic evidence with regard to the income of the deceased. A perusal of evidence on record admittedly shows that the petitioners have not filed any date of birth certificate of the deceased Chintha Mallesh. The said evidence also shows that the respondents, who denied the age of the deceased Mallesh, have also not filed any document in support of their denial. As such, the Court relied on the documentary evidence already on record and found that
Postmortem Report, which is marked as Ex.A6, mentions the age of the deceased as 25 years. Since the said document is issued by the medical authorities and since the said age mentioned in the said document is not countered by the respondents, the Court concludes that the age of the 8 deceased can be assumed to be 25 years on the date of the accident on the basis of Ex.A6 for the purpose of assessing compensation.
14. As mentioned earlier, the respondents have contended that the petitioners have not adduced any authentic document in support of the income of the deceased. The evidence on record shows that the petitioners have filed a Salary Certificate of the deceased vide Ex.A7 issued by PW2, employer of the deceased and a perusal of the same shows that the deceased was earning Rs.12,000/- p.m, but a scrutiny of the said document shows that the said document did not mention in what capacity the deceased was working in the said Borewell Firm. The petitioners have also not adduced any evidence to show that the deceased was technically qualified in any capacity in the Borewell Firm. But, the evidence of the respondents also shows that they have not contended that the deceased was an unemployed person without any income. As such, in the above mentioned circumstances, the Court concludes that since Ex.A7 did not mention in what capacity the deceased was working in the said Borewell
Firm and since the petitioners have not adduced any evidence to show that the deceased was otherwise qualified, the income of the deceased can only be assumed on par with the daily wages labourer in the open market, which is not less than Rs.150/- per day. As such, the Court assumes the income of the deceased as Rs.150/- per day amounting to Rs.4,500/- per month and Rs.54,000/- per annum for the purpose of assessing compensation.
15. The petitioners claimed an amount of Rs.2,000/- towards transportation charges. The respondents resisted the same. A perusal of the evidence on record shows that the deceased was a resident of 9
Chandanagar, met with an accident at Durgamma Temple, hence, was shifted to Janagama Area Hospital and then to the NIMS Hospital, later his body was shifted to his residence. As such, the Court concludes that the petitioners being the parents and brother of the deceased would have incurred transportation charges to shift the injured from the place of accident to the hospitals and his body to the residence. As such, awards
Rs.2,000/- , as claimed by the petitioners, towards transportation charges.
16. The petitioners claimed an amount of Rs.1,000/- towards damages to clothes. The same is also resisted by the respondents. Admittedly, the deceased Chintha Mallesh succumbed to the injuries suffered by him in the accident. Hence, this Court concludes that his clothes can be taken as damaged in view of his death. Hence, awards Rs.500/- towards damages to the clothing of the deceased.
17. The petitioners claimed an amount of Rs.17,000/- towards pain and sufferings. The same is also resisted by the respondents. The evidence on record shows that as a result of the injuries suffered by the deceased
Chintha Mallesh in view of the accident due to the negligence of the rider of the motorcycle bearing No.AP 24 AV 1431 and that he succumbed to the said injuries 3 days after the accident. As such, the Court concludes that the deceased would have suffered lot of pain and sufferings during the period of his death and the date of accident apart from petitioners suffering from pain, shock and agony due to the sufferings of the deceased. Hence, the Court awards Rs.10,000/- towards compensation for pain and sufferings.
18. The contention of the petitioners is that the son of the petitioners No.1 & 2 and the brother of the petitioner No.3 died untimely due to the 10 negligence on the part of the rider of the motorcycle bearing No.AP 24 AV 1431 and as such, the Court concludes that the petitioners are entitled for compensation, as they are depending financially, emotionally, socially and morally on his support. Hence, in order to calculate the compensation to be awarded to the petitioners due to the untimely death of Chintha Mallesh, the court relied on the Second Schedule of Sec.163-A of Motor Vehicles Act and found that the same provides the multiplier as 18 for a person aged 25 years. Hence, the Court applied the said multiplier 18 to the assumed annual income of the deceased i.e., (Rs.54,000/- p.a X 18) and arrived at
Rs.9,72,000/-. Out of the said amount, the Court deducted 1/3rd i.e
Rs.3,24,000/- towards personal expenses of the deceased, as provided under the same schedule (Rs.9,72,000 – 3,24,000) and arrived at
Rs.6,48,000/-. As such, the Court concludes that the petitioners are entitled for a compensation of Rs.6,48,000/- due to the untimely death of
Chintha Mallesh, who is the son of the petitioners No.1 & 2 and the brother of the petitioner No.3, towards loss of life, love and affection, etc., including funeral expenses.
19. Thus, the Court concludes that the petitioners are entitled for the following compensation:-
1) Transportation charges ---- Rs. 2,000-00
2) Damages to clothing ---- Rs. 500-00
3) Pain & Sufferings ---- Rs. 10,000-00
4) loss of life, love & affection, ---- Rs. 6,48,000-00 Funeral expenses, etc., ----------------------- Total: Rs. 6,60,500-00 ----------------------
20. The contention of the petitioners is that the respondent No.1 & 2, who are the owner and the insurer of the motor vehicle bearing No.AP 24 AV 1431 that caused the accident are liable to pay them the compensation 11 jointly and severally. The evidence on record show that though the respondents contended that they are not liable to pay compensation to the petitioners, they have not denied that the respondent No.1 is the owner of the motor vehicle bearing No.AP 24 AV 1431 that caused the accident and that the said vehicle is insured with the respondent No.2 under the policy bearing No.35100731126203255524. Hence, in view of the findings of the
Court that the petitioners are entitled for compensation, this Court concludes that the respondents 1 & 2 are liable to pay compensation to the petitioners jointly and severally. Hence, decides this issue in favour of the petitioners.
21. ISSUE NO.3: (i) In the result, the petition is allowed in part, awarding a compensation of Rs.6,60,500/- (Rs.Six Lakhs Sixty Thousand and Five
Hundred only) along with proportionate costs and interest @ 7.5% p.a from the date of the petition till realization of the same.
(ii) The respondents No.1 & 2 are directed to deposit the compensation awarded along with interest accrued thereon within 2 months from the date of this order jointly and severally with this Tribunal.
(iii) Out of the compensation awarded, the petitioner No.1, being the mother and natural heir of the deceased Chintha Mallesh, is awarded an amount of Rs.3,12,500/- along with proportionate costs and interest, while the petitioner No.2, who is the father of the deceased Chintha Mallesh, is awarded Rs.2,00,000/- along with proportionate costs and interest and the petitioner No.3, who is the younger brother of the deceased, is awarded
Rs.1,48,000/- along with proportionate costs and interest.
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(iv) Out of the said compensation awarded, the petitioner No.1 is permitted to withdraw an amount of Rs.1,00,000/- and the balance along with the interest accrued there on shall be put in a Fixed Deposit in a
Nationalized Bank for a period of 3 years and the petitioner No.1 shall be entitled to withdraw the same as per her requirements. The petitioner No.2 is also permitted to withdraw an amount of Rs.1,00,000/- and the balance along with the interest accrued thereon shall be deposited in a Nationalized
Bank for a period of 3 years and the petitioner No.2 shall be entitled to withdraw the same as per his requirements. The petitioner No.3 is permitted to withdraw an amount of Rs.50,000/- out of the compensation awarded to him and the balance shall be put in a Fixed Deposit for a period of 3 years in a Nationalized Bank and the petitioner No.3 shall be entitled to withdraw the same as per his requirements.
(v) The advocate’s fee is fixed at Rs.3,000/-.
(Dictated to the Stenographer, corrected and pronounced by me in the Open Tribunal on this the 7th day of January, 2015.)
CHAIRMAN, PRL.MACT-cum-
PRL.DISTRICT JUDGE
RANGA REDDY DISTRICT.
APPENDIX OF EVIDENCE
WITNESSES EXAMINED
FOR PETITIONERS:
PW1 - Ch.Yadagiri PW2 – N. Venkateswarlu
FOR RESPONDENTS: Nil
EXHIBITS MARKED
FOR PETITIONERS:
Ex.A1 - CC of FIR Ex.A2 – CC of Charge Sheet Ex.A3 – CC of Inquest Report Ex.A4 – CC of Crime Details Form along with Rough Sketch 13
Ex.A5 – CC of MVI Report Ex.A6 – CC of Postmortem Report Ex.A7 – Original Salary Certificate
FOR RESPONDENTS:
Ex.B1 – Insurance Policy
CHAIRMAN, PRL.MACT-cum-
PRL.DISTRICT JUDGE
RANGA REDDY DISTRICT.