SAPNA Vs. ORIENTAL INSURANCE CO LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BEING aggrieved by the award dated 25. 6. 2004 passed by Fourteenth M. A. C. T. , Indore in Claim Case no. 37 of 2004 whereby the claim petition filed by the appellants has been dismissed, the present appeal is filed.

(2.) SHORT facts of the case are that a claim petition was filed by the present appellants on 11. 3. 2001 in which it was alleged that sujanmal Jain was the father of appellants and was a practising lawyer. It was alleged that on 12. 11. 1994 at about 4. 30 p. m. the deceased Sujanmal Jain was coming from mhow to Indore on a scooter which was owned by respondent No. 2 bearing registration No. MP 09-1209. It was alleged that all of a sudden the offending scooter fell down in a ditch opposite to Utsav Hotel resulting which deceased Sujanmal Jain sustained grievous injuries and was admitted to Choithram Hospital. Since he had sustained head injury, therefore, he was operated but because of grievous injuries, he passed away on 20. 11. 1994. In claim application which was filed under section 163-A of Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (which shall be referred hereinafter as 'the Act'), appellants claimed a sum of Rs. 30,00,000.

(3.) THE claim petition was contested by the respondent No. 1 on various grounds alleging that appellants are not entitled for any amount of compensation under section 163-A of the Act. It was also alleged that because of negligent driving on the part of deceased the accident occurred, therefore, no amount of compensation can be claimed. It was also alleged that accident took place on 12. 11. 1994 while section 163-A was inserted in the Act on 14. 11. 1994, therefore, appellants are not entitled to claim any amount of compensation. On the basis of the pleadings of the parties, learned Tribunal framed the issues, recorded the evidence and dismissed the claim petition by the impugned award. However, the learned Tribunal found that the cause of death of Sujanmal Jain was because of accident. It was also found that at the time of death the age of deceased was 53 years and his monthly income was approximately Rs. 15,000.