IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANAAT CHANDIGARH FAO No.4549 of 2002 (O&M) Date of decision:19.08.2010 The Oriental Insurance Company Limited ...Appellant Versus Parvinder Kaur and others ....Respondents Present: Mr. Vinod Chaudhari, Advocate, for the appellant. None for the respondents. ----- CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE K. KANNAN ----- 1. Whether reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment ? 2. To be referred to the reporters or not ? 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the digest ? ---- K.Kannan, J. (Oral) 1. The Insurance Company is in appeal on two grounds namely, in a case that involved collision between two vehicles, the Tribunal ought to have found that the insurer's vehicle was not wholly responsible for the accident and apportioned liability with the other vehicle as having contributed to the same. An issue of negligence shall not be a ground that shall avail an insurer to plead in an appeal. 2. The other contention is that the rate of interest awarded is excessive. If the case must be taken only on an issue of interest in an appeal which would not be otherwise permissible at the instance of the insurer, I do not want to enter into a controversy having regard to the FAO No.4549 of 2002 (O&M) - 2 - issue of the interest component, the Tribunal has referred to a decision of this Court at that particular time referring to the fact that since the accident had taken place prior to February 2001, the interest could be awarded at 12%. The reduction of interest which the Courts have done following the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Khaushama Begum Versus New India Assurance Company Limited-(2001) 1 SCC 155, provided different dispensation, but I do not want to interfere in the award of the Tribunal only on the issue of quantum at this stage especially when the Tribunal has applied its mind on the same and relied on a judgment of this Court for application of the particular rate of interest at 12%. 3. The award is confirmed and the appeal is dismissed. (K.KANNAN) JUDGE 19.08.2010 sanjeev