INDIRA GOPINATHA MENON Vs. ARYA BHANGY MOTORS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These appeals arise from the award dated 16.2.2011 passed by the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Perumbavoor in O.P.(M.V) No. 1925 of 2005. The said claim petition was filed by the legal heirs of one Sibi.M.G. who met with a motor vehicle accident on 6.4.2005 and succumbed to the injuries sustained, on 7.4.2005. They are respectively the mother and sisters of the deceased. They claimed Rs. 7,00,000.00 as compensation for the death of Sibi and as per the impugned award in these appeals the Tribunal awarded an amount of Rs. 2,56,500.00 with interest at the rate of 8% perannum from the date of the petition till realisation. The former appeal has been preferred by the petitioners therein seeking enhancement of the compensation and the latter appeal has been preferred by the owner of the offending vehicle against the exoneration of the insurance company from the liability to indemnify him and seeking to set aside the impugned award to the extent it saddled him with the liability to pay the compensation to the appellants in the former appeal. In this judgment, for the sake of convenience, the parties are referred to hereinafter in accordance with their status before the Tribunal unless otherwise specifically mentioned.

(2.) The facts leading to the filing of these appeals are as follows:-

(3.) Before the Tribunai, the first petitioner was examined as PW1 and Exts. AI to A6 were got marked on the side of the petitioners. One Mr. M.B. Chandrakshan Nair was examined as PW2. On the side of the respondents there was no evidence, either oral or documentary. Ext. XI is a court document which is the case diary in Crime No. 229/2005 of Angamaly Police Station registered in respect of the accident in question. After appreciating the evidence on record as also the arguments advanced the Tribunal arrived at the finding that the accident occurred due to the rash and negligent riding of the motor cycle bearing registration No. KL-7/AT-6898 by the second respondent. The Tribunal assessed compensation under different heads and awarded a total compensation of Rs. 2,56,500.00 and directed the first respondent to pay the same to the petitioners. The 3rd respondent was exonerated from the liability to indemnify the first respondent holding that the 2nd respondent had violated the provisions under Sec. 128 of the M.V. Act which prohibits the rider of a motor cycle from taking more than one pillion rider on the motorcycle. As noticed hereinbefore, both the petitioners and the first respondent got grievances against the said judgment and award and they filed the captioned appeals in the said circumstances with the aforementioned prayers.