MALUMBI Vs. ALBIN ABDUL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This revision petition is filed against an order passed by the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Dharwad on LA. IX filed by the claimants requesting the Tribunal to modify the award regarding its direction to deposit the compensation amount awarded to the claimants in any nationalised Bank in the manner indicated in the said award.

(2.) A few facts are: Deceased Dastagirisab met with a motor accident on 18-8-1985 who was the only bread earner to the members of his family. Because of his untimely and unforeseen death, his wife and four children became destitutes. They approached the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Dharwad, with an application under Section 110-A of the Motor Vehicles Act claiming compensation. The Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal after hearing both sides, namely, the claimants and so also the owner and driver of the vehicle and the Insurance Company, awarded compensation in a sum of Rs. 77,000/- to all the claimants, and then it apportioned in the following manner: i) The widow Smt. Malumbi is entitled to get Rs. 25,000/- with proportionate interest and costs; ii) The other claimants, namely, claimant Nos. 2 to 5, are entitled to get Rs. 13,000/- with proportionate interest and costs. The operative portion of the award reads as follows:

(3.) Claimants as they felt that the amount awarded in the form of compensation to them as just and reasonable did not take step to seek its enhancement by filing an appeal before this Court, because they felt that they had already lost the bread-earner and each day was a problem for them to eke-out their livelihood and satisfied that the compensation awarded came as a consolation to them. These illiterate and ignorant claimants felt that the amount awarded by the Tribunal would compensate the loss of their bread earner, namely, deceased Dastagirisab.