ORIENTAL INSURANCE CO. LTD Vs. VARALAKSHMI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Civil Miscellaneous Appeal has been filed by the Insurance Company questioning the liability and challenging the Compensation awarded in M.C.O.P. No.18 of 2014, dtd. 24/7/2017, by the learned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal and III Additional District Judge, Vellore at Tirupattur.

(2.) The Appellant is Insurance Company, Respondents 1 to 4 are Claimants and 5th Respondent is Owner of the offending vehicle. The Claimants filed Claim Petition in M.C.O.P. No.18 of 2014 claiming Rs.20,00,000.00 as Compensation. The First Respondent is Wife, 2nd & 3rd Respondents are minor children and Fourth Respondent is Mother of the deceased one Anbzhagan. It is the case of the Claimants before the Tribunal that the Fifth Respondent and the deceased were well known persons and at request of the Fifth Respondent to get some articles from Elagiri, the deceased took Fifth Respondent's vehicle Hero Honda Passion bearing Reg.No.TN-10-J-7634 to Elagiri on 17/1/2012 and when he returned back along with one Pillion Rider namely Harikrishnan, the deceased drove the vehicle observing all the rules of the road. On that day at about 18.45 hours when the deceased was proceeding Elagiri Hill at 14th bend, all of sudden a snake passed in the middle of the road and on seeing the same the deceased applied sudden brake, but since the conditions of the tire of the vehicle become worst, it skidded, due to which, the deceased and the Pillion Rider fell down and sustained injuries. The deceased sustained multiple grievous and immediately he was taken to Government Hospital, Tirupattur and after first aid, he was taken to CMC, Vellore and then taken to Rajiv Gandhi Medical College Hospital, Chennai as inpatient, but, on 19/1/2012, the deceased succumbed to the injuries.

(3.) The Claim Petition was not contested by the Fifth Respondent-Owner of the offending vehicle and he remained ex parte before the Tribunal. The Claim Petition was contested by the Appellant/Insurance Company and they filed detailed Counter denying all the allegations apart from disputing the liability.