NEW INDIA ASSURANCE COMPANY LTD Vs. NEEMA BHANDARI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY way of this appeal, under Sec tion 173 of Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, the insurance company i. e. insurer of offending vehicle in question has chal lenged the impugned judgment and award dated 24. 11. 2005 passed by Motor Ac cident Claims Tribunal/district Judge, Bageshwar, in Motor Accident Claim Petition No. 8 of 2005, Smt. Neema Bhandari and another versus New India Assurance Company Limited.

(2.) BRIEF facts of the case as per the claim petition are that on 18. 2. 2005 at about 10. 30 p. m. while the driver of Ve hicle No. UP-25-6630 Sri Govind Singh Bhandari (deceased) was going to Kathgodam from Bageshwar and when the said vehicle reached near Syalidhar-Chaulidhar Almora Police Station, Kotwali Almora, in the meantime, due to technical failure the vehicle got acci dental and Govind Singh Bhandari sus tained injuries and later on he died. It is alleged that at the time of accident the vehicle was insured with opposite party no. 1-New India Assurance Company Ltd. and opposite party no. 2- Sri Rajiv Agrawal was its owner. As per the claim petition the age of deceased at the time of accident was about 25 years and his monthly income was Rs. 4, 000/- and claimants were his dependants. The claimants claimed a sum of Rs. 10, 00, 000/- (Rupees Ten Lacs) as compensation against opposite parties.

(3.) THE learned Tribunal on the ba sis of pleadings of parties framed relevant issues in the claim petition. Parties led evidence in support of their cases. THE Tribunal after having considered the material available on record and hear ing learned counsel for the parties de creed the claim petition in favour of claimants/respondents for a sum of Rs. 5, 50, 000/-, payable by New India Assurance Co. Ltd. , along with an inter est @ 5% per annum.