MANAGING DIRECTOR TRTC Vs. SIKHA RANI DEB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal has been filed by the appellants, the Managing Director, Tripura Road Transport Corporation, Krishnanagar, Agartala, West Tripura District and two others against the judgment and award dated 31.8.1999 passed by the learned Member, Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, North Tripura, Dharmanagar (herein after referred to as "the Tribunal") in T.S. (MAC) No. 15 of 1995 whereby and whereunder the learned Tribunal awarded an amount of Rs. 4,35,200/- to the claimant-respondents in equal share, i.e. Rs. 87,040/- each. In addition to that the learned Tribunal awarded Rs. 5,000/- and Rs. 2,000/- to the claimant-respondent No. 1 as loss of consortium and funeral charges respectively.

(2.) The aforesaid appeal is filed by the appellants mainly on the ground that the learned Tribunal cannot consider the monthly income of the deceased victim more than the amount stated by the claimant-respondents in their claim petition as well as by PWs on their own.

(3.) The brief facts of the case are as follows:- The late husband of the claimant-respondent No. 1, father of the claimant-respondents No. 2, 3 and 4 and son of claimant-respondent No. 5 namely, Babul Ch. Deb died on 31.12.1994 at about 10 a.m. near Rajbari tri-junction on Dharmanager-Bagbassa Road in a vehicular accident. It was contended in the claim petition that the deceased victim Babul was an employee of Tripura Road Transport Corporation, Krishnanagar, Agartala, West Tripura (herein after referred to as "the Corporation") and was posted in the office of the Deputy Manager of the Corporation at Dharmanagar, North Tripura. It was asserted in the claim petition that the deceased victim while had been going to garage of the Corporation at Dharmanagar, he had found the attending Vehicle No. TRS 718 (Bus) going towards the garage. He than signaled the driver of the said bus to stop it so that he could get entry to the bus with a view to going to the garage of the Corporation. Thereafter, the driver of the attending vehicle stopped the bus for a short while and he had suddenly started the bus for which the deceased victim could not get entry to the bus and had fallen on the road. Then the vehicle ran over him and he sustained bleeding injuries. The local people thereafter shifted him to Dharmanagar Hospital for treatment of his injuries, but unfortunately he died there on the same day. The incident of the accident was brought to the notice of the Officer-in-charge of Dharmanagar Police Station and accordingly a case was registered against the driver of the offending vehicle under Section 304 (A) of the Indian Penal Code. According to the opinion of the doctor who conducted the post mortem over the body of the deceased victim, the victim died due to severe haemorrhage from the wound.