CORAM: HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR DIVISION BENCH HON’BLE SHRI RAJEEV GUPTA, C.J. & HON’BLE SHRI N.K. AGARWAL, J. Respondents Driver Owner Misc. Appeal No. 849 of 2006 ParmesHwar Patel aged about 30 years, s/o Laxman Prasad Patel, rlo Battalion Appellant Claimant P.T.S. (Eighth Company), Tahsil Rajnandgaon. VERSUS Ranjit Kumar Tiwari, aged about 25 years, s/o Umesh Tiwari, r/o village Bandha, thana Madanpur, Orangabad (Bihar) 2 Pratapsingh, s/o Birsingh r/o Quarter No.4 B, Road No.13, Sector 10, Bhilai, distt. Durg. Tne New India Assurance Co. Ltd., through Branch Manager, Branch Office, Kamteeline Rajnandgaon. Memo of appeal under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act. Shri Parag Kotecha and Shri Yogesh Chandra, counsel for the appellant. Present : t ORDER *\\ (13m December, 2011) Shri Virendra Janardhan, counsel on behalf of Shri Deepak Gupta, counsel for respondent No.3. \ 2 M.A. No. 849 of 2006 The following order of the Court was passed by Rajeev Gupta, C.J. Appellant! claimant Parmeshwar Patel is seeking enhancement of the compensation awarded by the Second Additional Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Rajnandgaon (for short ‘the Tribunal’) vide award dated 06.052006, passed in Claim Case No.49/2005. 2) As against the compensation of Rs.6,00,000/— claimed by the appellant/claimant, by filing a claim petition under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, for the injuries sustained by him in the motor accident on 03.03.2003, the Tribunal awarded a total sum of Rs.16,000/- 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 of the offending vehicle Truck bearing registration No. C.G.- 04/ZC- 4864 liable to pay compensation to the claimant. 4) As the insurer of the above offending vehicle Truck has not filed any appeal against the impugned award challenging the above finding recorded by the Tribunal, the same now has attained unality. 5) The Tribunal considering the number and nature of the injuries t proved to have been sustained by the claimant in the motor accident; the amount proved to have been spent on treatment; the fact that the claimant was a government servant, most of the medical expenses must have been reimbursed by the State Government, 3 M.A. No. 849 of 2006 awarded lump—sum of Rs.16,000/— as compensation to the claimant for the injuries sustained by him in the motor accident. The Tribunal further directed payment of interest on the above amount of compensation of Rs.16,000/- @ 6% per annum from the date of tiling of the ciaim petition till the date of actual payment. 6) Shri Parag Kotecha and Shri,Yogesh Chandra, learned counsel for the appellant submittedlthat the Tribunal has erred in awarding low compensation of Rs.16,000/— only though the appellant sustained multiple serious injuries including fracture in the motor accident. 7) Shri Virendra Janardhan, learned counsel appearing on behalf of Shri Dashrath Gupta, learned counsel for respondent No.3, the New lndia Insurance Company Limited, the insurer of the offending vehicle Truck, on the other hand, supported the award and contended that the compensation of Rs.16,000/— awarded by the Tribunal is just and proper compensation in the facts and circumstances of the present case. 8) Claimant Parmeshwar Patel was aged about 30 years on the date of the accident. He was a Police Constable posted at Rajnandgaon. The claimant sustained multiple serious injuries including fracture in the motor accident is borne out from the evidence available on record. Though it is a matter of common knowledge that substantial amount is required to be spent on the treatment of fracture, in the present case, as the claimant is a government servant in all likelihood most of the medical expenses must have been reimbursed by the State Government. There is not €76 4 M.A. No. 849 of 2006 even an iota of evidence to indicate that the claimant suffered any loss in his future earning capacity on account of the injuries and the fracture sustained by him in the motor accident. In fact, the ciaimant is continuing on the same post of Constable even after the accident and is getting the same salary and allowances. Inspite of grant of repeated opportunities, no material was produced on behalf of the appellant before us in this appeal to establish that the claimant was denied promotion on account of the injuries and fracture sustained by him in the motor accident. .\ 9) The compensation of Rs.16,000/— awarded by the Tribunal when examined in the context of the above mentioned broad features of the‘case and the fact that the claimant is entitled to receive compensation under the head of loss of leave/ income; pain and suffering; special diet; conveyance; and attendant, we are of the opinion that the compensation awarded by the Tribunal is certainly on the lower side and deserves to be enhanced suitably. 10) Considering all the relevant aspects of the matter, we are of the opinion that further award of Rs.16,000/— inclusive of interest component on the enhanced amount of compensation would make the compensation of Rs.16,000/- awarded by the Tribunal as just and proper compensation in the facts and circumstances of the present case. 11) The appeal filed by the appellant/ claimant for enhancement of the compensation, therefore, is allowed in part. The claimant is awarded further sum of Rs.16,000l— (Rupees sixteen thousand only) inclusive of~ interest component on the enhanced amOunt of ,7“ \_ 5 MA. No. 849 of 2006 compensation in addition to the sum of Rs.16,000/- awarded by the Tribunal. 12) Respondent No.3 the New india Insurance Company Limited is granted three months' time for depositing the total sum of Rs.16,000/- (Rupees sixteen thousand only) before the concerning Claims Tribunal. nlmml 13) No order as to costs. \ Sd/- Sd/- N‘K'Agarwal r Chief Justice Judge