MAHEBUB SHIKANDAR GITELI Vs. RAMUBHAI LALUBHAI CHARAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present First Appeal 723 of 2012 is preferred by the present appellants/claimants under Sec. 173 of Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, being aggrieved and dissatisfied with the judgment and order dtd. 2/6/2011 passed in Motor Accident Claim Petition No. 334 of 2010 by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Panchmahal at Godhra, by which, the Tribunal has awarded Rs.90,000.00 for the death of 5 years old boy caused in the vehicular accident.

(2.) The brief facts of the case are as under.

(3.) I have heard learned advocates for the respective parties. I have perused the record and proceedings of the Trial Court. Learned advocate Mr. MA Kharadi for the appellants has submitted that the deceased - Faizan was about 5 years of age at the time of accident and Tribunal has wrongly considered the compensation to the tune of Rs.90,000.00 only against the claim of Rs.4,00,000.00. The Tribunal has wrongly considered Rs.75,000.00 towards loss of dependency, benefit, which is on lower side. He has also submitted that Rs.5000.00 towards funeral expenses and Rs.10,000.00 towards loss of estate is also on lower side. He has also submitted that the main issue involved in the present appeal is as to whether claimants can get more compensation in the case of minor. Therefore, he has relied on the judgment of the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Kisan Gopal vs. Lala and others reported in 2014 (1) SCC 244, wherein, the Hon'ble Apex Court had awarded Rs.5.00 lacs to the claimants on the death of 10 years old child. It is the submission of learned advocate Mr. Kharadi that the accident has taken place in the year 1992, therefore, though he has confined appeal to the tune of Rs.1,00000.00 in the appeal memo. He has submitted that the Court can grant more amount than claimed if it thinks just and proper while awarding compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act , 1988. Therefore, he has submitted that in the judgment of First Appeal No. 1416 of 2008 dtd. 24/9/2015, the Hon'ble High Court of Gujarat has considered the case of the minor daughter by awarding Rs.2,50,000.00 towards compensation claimed by the claimants in the claim petition. He has also relied on the judgment of Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Nagappa vs. Gurdayal singh reported in AIR 2003 SCC 674, by which the additional amount of compensation more than the claim in the claim petition can be awarded and therefore he prays to award total compensation of Rs.2,50,000.00 by enhancing Rs.1,60,000.00.