DEEPAK KUMAR Vs. LABH SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY this appeal under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles the appellant seeks enhancement of the compensation awarded by the 1st Member, Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Indore in Claim Case No. 4/2003.

(2.) ON 13th April, 2003 while the appellant was driving a Truck Chassis, the respondent No. 2 Harbans Singh, driving a Truck bearing Registration No. HR 37-6502 at an alarming speed, collided with the said Chassis resulting in severe injuries to the appellant. The appellant sustained injuries in both his legs, in patella, on calves as also a fracture in his left leg. He was badly bruised around his waist and in his hands. He had to be subjected to extensive treatment and according to the appellant, he had to pay about 1,50,000 on medical expenses but still he sustained permanent disablement. The accident was reported at P.S. Vijay Nagar, District Ajmer, where a case was registered. It was stated that the said vehicle was insured with the respondent No. 3 Insurance Company.

(3.) THE Tribunal framed three issues and came to the conclusion that the appellant, in the accident in question, sustained the said disablement and for that the appellant was entitled to recover from the respondents, severally and collectively, a sum of Rs. 52,880. Accordingly, it awarded the said amount with interest @ 6% from the date of the application. It is against the inadequacy of the award that the appellant has approached this Court in appeal. Earned Counsel for the appellant has submitted that in view of the long hospitalisation of the appellant, the nature of the injury resulting in disablement in both the legs rendering the appellant unfit for the job of the truck driver and the other sufferings to the appellant, the amount of compensation is grossly inadequate. The learned Counsel for the Insurance Company, however, maintains that for the injuries suffered in the legs, the amount awarded is more than sufficient in the facts and circumstances of the case.