^^ '^v %^ 1^[ HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISQARHATBn-ASPUR Sinale Bench : Hon'bte Shri Dilii? Raosaheb Deshmukh.J. Appellante M.A.fClNo.266of2008 1. Kera Roadw^se M/s Manna Singh @ Tapodhan Singh, aged 32 years. S/o Late Tikaram Singh Sakin Kera Road, Janjgir. 2. Lambodar Prasad, aged 50 years, S/© Har Prasad Pandey R/o Firangipara, Janjgir. Versus 1. Krishana Kumar Yadav, aged 2©years, S/o Saheb lal 2. Sarojani Bai, aged about 22 years, W/o Krishrta Kumar Yadav, Both R/o Nariyara, Thana Pamgarh, District Janjgir-Champa. Appeal underSection 173 ofthe MotorVeliiclesAct. 1988. Respondents Present : Smt. Renu Kochar, counsel for the appellants. ORAL QRDER (Passed on 26m February, 2008) Heard on I.A.No.2, which is an application for taking document on record. (2) I.A.No.2 is allowed. Document is taken on record. (3) Heard on admission. (4) The appellant is aggrieved by an award dated 01-08-2007 passed by the Additional Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Janjgir, District Janjgir- Champa (henceforth "the MACT")ln Claim Case No.69/2006 whereby in a case of death of a chjld, aged 2 years, compensation of Rs.1,4©,000/-with interest @ 6% per annum from the date of apptication was awarded and it was -further stipulated that If th©compensation was not pald within Iwo months. interest woutd be payable @ 9% per annum from the date of award. -z- (5) Brief facts are that on 07-05-2006at abeut 08.18 A.M.. Ku. Anisha, aged 2 years died as a resutt of rash and negligent driving of Bus RegistrationNo.C.G.117ZA/0185 by the appellant No.2. The eye- witnesses Krishna Kumar (A.W.1) and Durgesh Kumar (A.W.2) deposed that the abovementioned bus has caused the accident resulting in death of Ku. Anisha. Besides, the MACT also took into conslderation the fact Itiat a criminal prosecution was launched against the appellant No.2-Lambodar Prasad for causing death of Ku. Anisha due to rash and negligent driving ofbus Registration No.C.G.11/ZA/0185, (6) Smt. Renu Kochar, learned counsel for the appellants has urged that the finding recorded by the MACT thatftie abovementloned bus hact caused the accident is erroneous becausethe person who chased the bus on the motorcycle was not examined and the bus owned by the appellant No.1 did not have a permit to ply on the route on which the place of occurrence was situated. Learned counsel for the appellants dW not dispute that the appellant No.1 is the owner of the bus Registrafion No.C.G.11/ZA/0185 and appeltant No.2 is the employee/driver of tie appellant No.1. It was atso urged that the interest awarded by the MACT is on the higher side. (7) Having considered the submission of tearned counsel for the appellants,! have perused the Impugned award. The finding recorded by the MACT that the bus Registration No.C.G.11^A/0185 was driven in a rash or negligent manner by the appellant No.2 is based on the testimony of eye-witnesses Krishna Kumar (A.W.1) and Durgesh Kumar (A.W.2) who had witnessed the accident and seen the number of offendlng bus, The MACT also took into consideration the fact that a criminal prosecution was launched by the PoJice against the appeitant No-2-Lambodar Prasad for causlng the accident whi!e driving the abovementioned bus in a rash or 3— c^ negiigent manner. The argument that the accident occurred at a place where the offending bus was not to be plied under the permit is of no avai! to the appeliant and has been properiy deait with by the MACT in para 13 of the award. Leamed counsei for the appellants alsodid not dispute that no log book was maintained by the bus driver* The argument that the interest awarded by the MACT is'on the higher side can also not to be countenanced in view of the fact that only 6% per annum interest was awarded from the date of application and the compensation was to be deposited within two months, falling which, the interest was to be paid @9% per annum from the date of award and not from the date of applicatlon. (8) In this view of the matter, the appeat has no merit and is dismissed at the stage of admission. I.A.No.1, an application for grarrt of stay stands disposedof. | Sd/- Dilip Raosaheb Deshmukh Judge Tumane