BABLU ALIAS CHANDVEER Vs. NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal under Sec. 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, has been preferred against the judgment and award dtd. 30/9/2023, passed by the learned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Chamoli, in MACP No. 02 of 2022, Bablu @ Chandveer and others vs. National Insurance Company Ltd. and another, whereby a sum of Rs.9,26,800.00 along with interest @ 7% per annum was awarded as compensation in favour of the claimants.

(2.) The brief facts of the case are that on 13/7/2021, Ankit alias Ankit Kumar, employed as a tractor driver in Village Lacheda, was returning on foot to his native village Hathi Karoda at about 6:30 a.m. When he reached near the Indian Oil Petrol Pump on the Bypass Road, he was hit by an unknown vehicle being driven at a high speed and in a rash and negligent manner, resulting in his death on the spot. A shopkeeper informed the police, who prepared the panchnama treating the deceased as an unidentified person. The post-mortem was conducted at the District Hospital, Muzaffarnagar. Subsequently, the claimants identified the deceased as Ankit Kumar at Police Station Shahpur and performed his last rites. An FIR was later lodged on 22/7/2021 against an unknown driver and vehicle.

(3.) Learned counsel for the appellants submits that the judgment and award passed by the learned Tribunal are contrary to law and facts of the case and are, therefore, liable to be modified. It is contended that the learned Tribunal erred in determining the age of the deceased as 27 years, solely on the basis of the post- mortem report, while ignoring other documentary evidence available on record.