UNITED INDIA ASSURANCE COMPANY LTD Vs. BANKARAPPA NAICKER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ON 22.2.1984 at about 11.00a.m. subburaj the eldest son of the claimants was proceeding on his bicycle along sathur-kovilpatti main road. when he was nearing ezhayiram farm diverse road the lorry bearing registration no.m.e.p.2338 came from the opposite direction and knocked down the boy. as a result of the injury sustained in the accident subburaj died instantaneously. the parents of the deceased subburaj filed m.c.o.p.no.86 of 1984 on the file of the motor accidents claims tribunal (subordinate judge) at srivilliputhur claiming a compensation of rs.85,000 from the owner of the vehicle and the insurance company alleging that the accident was due to the rash and negligent driving of the lorry. the insurance company contested the claim on the ground that the accident took place only because the boy suddenly took a right turn and that in any event they were liable to pay rs.15,000 the no-fault liability alone. after enquiry the tribunal awarded rs.50,000 with interest at 6% per annum from the date of petition as compensation. aggrieved by the said award while the insurance company has preferred this civil miscellaneous appeal, the claimants have come forward with this cross objection.

(2.) THE owner of the lorry involved in the accident remained ex parte before the tribunal.

(3.) THE main controversy in this appeal relates to quantum of the compensation award. while the insurance company pleads that the sum of rs.30,000 awarded is not based on any settled legal principles, in the cross objections the claimants extend that they are entitled to the full amount of Rs.85,000 asked for in the application. We find from the claim petition that the parents of the deceased were aged 60 and 45 respectively at the time of the accident. In the application the age of the deceased is given as 14. THE first claimant Sankarappa Naicker states in his evidence that his son was studying in the 10th Standard in A.V.S. High School at the time of his death. Ex.P-1 the extract from the Register of admissions and withdrawals discloses that deceased Subburaj joined the school in 1979-80 and he was studying in the 10th Standard when the accident took place. His date of birth is given as 12.7.1969 which indicates that he was nearly 11/2 years old on the crucial date. Ex.P-2 is the certificate given by the Head Master of the School on 20.3.1984 stating that the deceased was an obedient and intelligent student. THE tribunal has taken the view on the basis of this certificate that the boy had a bright future. However, taking into account that he would not have spent his entire future earnings on the claimants and that subsequent to his marriage his contribution to the parents would be reduced, the sum of Rs.50,000 has been awarded. In this connection it may be borne in mind that the claimants have not filed the mark sheets of the deceased boy to assess how far he was good in his studies, In the absence of any evidence on this aspect we cannot hold with certainty that the boy would have come up very well later in his life. Besides there is also no evidence on the resources of the family. It is seen from the petition that the first claimant was a retired Police Constable aged about 60. THE second claimant was only a housewife aged about 45. THEre is no indication in the claim petition that the parents had the necessary wherewithal to educate the boy upto the maximum extent possible. P.W.I Sankarappa Naicker the first claimant describes himself as a coolie. His evidence is conspicuously silent about his capacity to educate the boy. He admits in cross-examination that he owns only an extent of one acre and 70cents of dry land depending upon rain. He does not speak anything about his earnings. While so, we are not in a position to assess how far the deceased would have come up in life.