NAVNEET NAIN Vs. NEW INDIA ASSURANCE CO. LTD.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a claimant's appeal, arising out of a judgment and award of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal/ the 9th Additional District Judge, Etawah dtd. 31/8/2000, rejecting the claim petition.

(2.) On the 6th of July, 1994 at about 8:15 p.m., Navneet Nain alias Navneet Agarwal, a resident of Kanpur, went over to meet a certain Oberoi, a contractor in that city. Navneet Nain rode his motorcycle, bearing Registration No. UP-75/1227 to destination. He was returning home located at 111/155, Harsh Nagar, VIP Road, Kanpur. Nain riding his motorcycle on the VIP Road had reached the gate of a certain G.C. Colony, situate two kilometers from Police Station Cantt. towards the east. A car, bearing Registration No. DDQ-8855, appeared on the spot and hit the motorcycle head on. In consequence of the four Wheeler's impact, the rider was thrown down. He sustained serious injuries to his person, including fractures and head injury. Nain's motorcycle too was badly damaged. It is Navneet Nain's case that he was riding his motorcycle at a moderate speed, keeping to the left hand side of the road when the accident happened. The offending car was driven at a high speed, negligently and without due care and caution by its driver. In fact, it was driven negligently. The driver of the offending car hit the ill-fated motorcycle on the wrong side of the road. The road was broad enough on the spot, where the accident happened, for both vehicles to pass safely, and there was no traffic at the time of the mis-happening. There was no occasion for the driver of the offending car to move to his right and knock down Nain's motorcycle. According to Nain, the accident happened exclusively on account of negligent driving of the offending car's driver. Had the car driver been careful and vigilant, the accident would never have happened. The driver, it is said, did not watch out on the road ahead. The driver of the offending car failed to observe the degree of care, caution and control, which were imperative in the circumstances on his part. After the accident, Nain was conveyed to the K.P.M. Hospital by Head Constable Ganesh Prasad, where he was examined and admitted.

(3.) Nain remained admitted to the K.P.M. Hospital until 7/7/1994. Since he was unconscious, his identity could not be established. His identity was established on 7/7/1994, whereupon he was referred to the L.L.R. Hospital, Kanpur. In order to secure better treatment, he was shifted on 7/7/1994 to Madhuraj Nursing Home (P) Ltd., 113/121-A, Swaroop Nagar, Kanpur and admitted there. He remained an indoor patient at Madhuraj Nursing Home from 7/7/1994 to 8/8/1994. Nain was then shifted to the Regency Hospital on 8/8/1994 and discharged from that Hospital on 2/9/1994. Until time when the claim petition was instituted, he was bed ridden and his condition critical. According to his case, Nain had undergone acute mental shock, pain and suffering. He has suffered a permanent disability to the extent of 70%, being a case of organic brain damage. The accident has left Nain with a permanent debilitation to his brain resulting in the loss of memory too. The accident caused Nain to lose his capacity to work as a contractor entirely. It has resulted further in loss of memory, besides a headache and impairment of attention. He is virtually crippled. According to Nain, he is doomed forever and his future lost. It is urged to be a case of total loss of earning as Nain has been rendered unfit to work as a contractor. It is also his case that on account of deprivation of his bodily functions, he has been put to great inconvenience and disadvantage, which he would face in his daily routine all through life. The injuries sustained have caused Nain to suffer a lot in body, mind and finance.