^c^ ^^^t HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR DIVISION BENCH CORAM: HON'BLE SHRI RAJEEV GUPTA, C.J. & HON'BLE SHRI RANGNATH CHANDRAKAR, J. Misc. Appeal (C) No. 923 of 2010 Appellant Claimant Respondents Non-applicants Resham Lal Dewangan, son of Budhuram, aged about 23 years, r/o village Mohad, tahsil Dongergaon, district Rajnandgaon, C.G. VERSUS Gurunam Singh Sardar son of Tara Singh, aged about 28 years, r/o Dabaripara, Basantpur, Rajnandgaon, through Bharat Travels, Old Bus Stand, Rajnandgaon C.G. (Driver) Sajid Akhtar, son of Haji Mohammad Shafique, Bharat Travels, Old Bus Stand, Rajnandgaon C.G. (Owner) The New India Insurance Company Limited, through Branch Manager, Branch Office, Parakh Bhawan, Station Road, Durg C.G. (Insurer) Memo of appeal under Section 173 of Motor Vehicle Act Present: Shri V.K. Sharma, counsel for the appellant. Shri Raj Awasthi, counsel for respondent No.3. ORDER yth (07m8eptember,2011) The following order of the Court was passed by Rajeev Gupta, C.J. ^sr t '"WKV" VJ ;^i ^.vy ^^gs^^ MACNo. 923 of 2010 This is claimant's appeal for enhancement of the compensation awarded by the First Additional Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Rajnandgaon (for short 'the Tribunal') vide award dated 25.06.2010, passed in Claim Case No.56/2009. 2) As against the compensation of Rs. 10,08,2007- claimed by the appellanVclaimant, by filing a claim petition under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, for the injuries sustained by him in the motor accident on 19.02.2009, the Tribunal awarded a total sum of Rs.1,24,300/- as compensation along with interest @ 7.5% 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 Minibus bearing registration No.C.G.-04/E/1636, liable to pay compensation to the claimant. 4) As the insurer of the above offending vehicle Minibus has not filed any appeal 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 spent on treatment, awarded Rs.91,800/- towards loss in the future earning capacity on account of the permanent disability; Rs.25,000/- towards medical expenses; Rs.2,500/- for pain and suffering; Rs.2,000/- for conveyance; Rs.2,000/- for attendant; and Rs.1,000/- for special diet. The Tribunal, thus, awarded a total ./^^ i .-?' •< !...,^g^. MACNo. 923 of 2010 ^Q sum of Rs.1,24,300/- as compensation to the claimant for the injuries sustained by himin the motor accident. The Tribunal further directed payment of interest on the above amount of compensation of Rs.1,24,300/- @ 7.5% per annum from the date of filing of the claim petition till the date of actual payment. 6) Shri V.K. Sharma, learned counsel for the appellant submitted that the Tribunal has erred in not awarding any sum towards loss of income during the period of treatment and in awarding low sum of Rs.2,500/-, Rs.2,000/-, Rs.2,000/-, and Rs.1,000/- towards pain and suffering, conveyance, attendant and special diet; and in awarding low compensation of Rs.1,24,300/- only though the appellant/ claimant on account of the injuries sustained by him in the motor accident including fracture of his left femur bone, has been rendered unfit to pursue his occupation as Auto-mechanic. 7) Shri Raj Awasthi, learned counsel for respondent No.3, the New India Insurance Company Limited, the insurer of the offending vehicle Minibus, on the other hand, supported the award and contended that the compensation of Rs.1,24,300/- awarded by the Tribunal is just and proper compensation in the facts and circumstances of the present case. 8) Claimant Resham Lal Dewangan was aged about 23 years on the date of the accident. He was Auto-mechanic by occupation. The claimant sustained multiple serious injuries including fracture of his left femur bone in the motor accident is established from the evidence available on record including the /. .^: ^^ ^ '^s^gs^ MACNo. 923 Of 2010 medical evidence of AW-2 Prakash Bhalerao. It is a matter of common knowledge that substantial amount is required to be spent on the treatment of fractures. The claimant, being Auto- mechanic, could not have performed his duties for a period of 3-4 months on account of the fracture of his left femur bone, resulting in monitory loss to him. The Tribunal certainly has erred in not awarding any sum towards loss of income during the period of treatment. The sums of Rs.2,500/-, Rs.2,000/-, Rs.2,000/- and Rs.1,000/- awarded by the Tribunal towards pain and suffering, conveyance, attendant and special diet are also on the lower side. 9) The compensation of Rs.1,24,300/- awarded by the Tribunal when examined in the context of the above mentioned broad features of the case, in our opinion, 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.25,000/- inclusive of interest component on the enhanced amount of compensation would make the compensation of Rs.1,24,300/- awarded by the Tribunal as just and proper compensation in the facts and circumstances of the present case. 11) The appeal filed by the appellanV claimant for enhancement of the compensation, therefore, is allowed in part. The claimant is awarded further sum of Rs.25,000/- inclusive of interest component on the enhanced amount of compensation in addition to the sum of Rs.1,24,300/- awarded by the Tribunal. ^ ^ s.-, -.^. ;f •^^SS^ •4 ^^^:^:y^^. I "i^^^^:% 1 'l^ '""" I? y \. '^^ '^•^•^y^y -J^' MACNo. 923 of 2010 12) Respondent No.3 the New India Insurance Company Limited is granted three months' time for depositing the total sum of Rs.25,000/- before the concerning Claims Tribunal. 13) No order as to costs. -—— Sd/- Chief Justice Sd/- R.N. Chandrakar Judge nimmj r