HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR DIVISION BENCH CORAWI: HON'BLE SHRI RAJEEV GUPTA, C.J. & HON'BLE SHRI N.K. AGARWAL, J. Misc. Appeal (C)No. 493 of 2007 Appellant Respondents Smt. Meena Bhattacharya, w/o late Shri S.L. Bhattacharya, aged about 47 years, r/o G-105, Bharti Apartment, Malviya Nagar Durg C.G. VERSUS Dayal Singh Rajput, s/o Shri Gautam Singh Rajput, aged about 25 years, r/o Nagar Chowk, P.S. Civil Lines, Bilaspur, distt. Bilaspur C.G. Branch Manager, New India Insurance Co. Ltd. Distt. Bilaspur, Branch Rajendra Chowk, Bilaspur C.G. Memo of appeal under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act. Present: Shri Vipin Tiwari, counsel for the appellant. Shri Pravesh Sharma, counsel for respondent No.2. ORDER (19thMarch,2012) The following order of the Court was passed by Rajeev Gupta, C.J. Appellant/ Claimant Smt. Meena Bhattacharya is seeking enhancement of the compensation awarded by the 11 Additional M.A.C.No. 493 of2007 Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Durg (for short 'the Tribunal') vide award dated 23.01.2007, passed in Claim Case No.124/2006. 2) As against the compensation of Rs.12,12,830/- claimed by the appellant/claimant, by filing a claim petition under Section 166 ofthe Motor Vehicles Act, for the injuries sustained by her in the motor accident on 29.04.2003, the Tribunal awarded a total sum of Rs.1,61,651/- as compensation to the claimant along with interest @ 6% per annum from the date of filing of the claim petition till the date of actual payment. 3) The Tribunal on a close scrutiny of the entire evidence led before it held the New India Insurance Company Limited, the insurer ofthe offending vehicle Tata Sumo bearing registration No.C.G.10- ZD/1897 liable to pay compensation to the claimant. 4) As the insurer of the above offending vehicle Tata Sumo has not filed any appeal against the impugned award challenging the above finding recorded by the Tribunal, the same now has attained finality. 5) The Tribunal considering the number and nature of the injuries proved to have been sustained by the claimant in the motor accident and the amount proved to have been spent on treatment, awarded Rs.1,11,769/- towards medical expenses; Rs.25,002/- towards loss of leave during the period of treatment; Rs.15,000/- for pain and suffering; Rs.7000/- for conveyance; Rs.5,000/- for attendant; and Rs.4,000/- for special diet. The Tribunal, thus, assessed a total sum of Rs.1,67.771/- ascompensation to the claimant, but due to .rf-'*5?'?^'1' i^'-'e"^1 a ^ M.A.C. No. 493 of2007 arithmetical mistake a sum of Rs.1,61,651/- has been awarded under the impugned award. The Tribunal further directed payment of interest on the above amount of compensation of Rs.1,61,651/- @ 6% per annum from the date of filing of the claim petition till the date of actual payment. 6) Shri Vipin Tiwari, learned counsel for the appellant submitted that the Tribunal has committed an arithmetical mistake as the total amount awarded by the Tribunal under the other heads comes to Rs.1,67.771/- and the Tribunal has awarded only Rs.1,61.651/-; and the Tribunal has further erred in awarding low compensation of Rs.1,61.651/- only though the appellant/ claimant sustained multiple serious injuries including fractures in the motor accident. 7) Shri Pravesh Sharma, learned counsel for respondent No.2, the New India Insurance Company Limited, the insurer of the offending vehicle Tata Sumo, on the other hand, supported the award and contended that the compensation of Rs.1,61,651/- awarded by the Tribunal cannot be termed as inadequate so as to warrant enhancement in this appeal. 8) Claimant Smt. Meena Bhattacharya, was aged about 47 years on the date of the accident. She was working as Teacher in a Government School at the relevant time. In the same accident, the claimant's husband S.S. Bhattacharya also sustained injuries resulting in his death. The claimant sustained multiple serious injuries including fractures in the motor accident is borne out from the evidence available on record. The bills and vouchers produced fSC-:f^~*. /^^ ;f l:issEx^ f- ,'i •SBS£a?^, ^ '^ ^-^/ s'u/y N^;.,,,^-yw-' M.A.C. No. 493 of2007 by the claimant before the Tribunal in regard to the medical expenses were to the extent of Rs.1,11,769/- and the Tribunal has awarded this entire amount of Rs.1,11,769/- towards medical expenses. 9) Claimant Smt. Meena Bhattacharya herself admitted in her cross-examination before the Tribunal that after the accident she was getting thesame salary which she was getting prior to the accident and there has not been any reduction in her salary on account of the injuries and fractures sustained by her in the motor accident. It is thus apparent that the claimant did not suffer any toss in herfuture earning capacity on account ofthe injuries and fractures sustained by her in the motor accident. 10) Even then, the claimant, in our opinion, is entitled to get some compensation towards loss of amenities of life and inconvenience on account of the injuries and fractures sustained by her in the motor accident. In our opinion, a sum of Rs.20,000/- would be just and proper compensation under the above head. 11) The arithmetical mistake of Rs.6,120/- is apparent from the impugned award as total of the amounts of Rs.1,11.769/-, Rs.25,002/-, Rs.15,000/-, Rs.7,000/-, Rs.5,000/-, and Rs.4,000/- comes to Rs.1,67.771/- and the Tribunal in para 15 ofthe impugned award has wrongly mentioned the total of the above amounts as Rs.1,61,651/-. Theclaimant, thus, is entitled to get this difference of Rs.6,120/-also. / ^.•^'-:^'. ^ ifi. !'.. ' •'\ !f %s^^" ~<B^-'1,'; •%..^y' I M.A.C.No. 493 of2007 12) The claimant is further awarded a sum of Rs.3,880/- as quantified amount of interest on the enhanced amount of compensation of Rs.20,000/- and the balance amount of Rs.6,120/- as mentioned above. 13) Theclaimant, thus, becomes entitled to receive a total sum of Rs.30,000/- from the insurer of the offending vehicle Tata Sumo. 14) For the foregoing reasons, the appeal filed by the appellant/ claimant for enhancement of the compensation is allowed in part. The claimant is awarded further sum of Rs.30,000/- inclusive of interest component on the enhanced amount of compensation in addition to the sum of Rs.1,61,651/- awarded by the Tribunal. 15) Respondent No.2 the New India Insurance Company Limited is granted three months' time for depositing the total sum of Rs.30,000/- (Rupees thirty thousand only) before the concerning Claims Tribunal. 16) No order as to costs. Sd/- ) Chief Justice Sd/- N.K. Agarwal Judge subbu