INDRAJEET KAUR Vs. KUMARJI PAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Appellants have filed this appeal, challenging the award dtd. 3/5/2017 passed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, seeking enhancement of compensation amount.

(2.) Learned counsel for the appellants has submitted that as per the last income tax return Exhibit-24 for the assessment year 2012-13 filed by the deceased on 28/12/2012, the annual income of the deceased was Rs.2,31,950.00. Tribunal had erred in taking the income of the deceased as Rs.1,80,000.00 per annum. Deceased was aged 35 years at the time of accident. Hence, appropriate multiplier to work out the amount of compensation would be '16'. Learned counsel has further submitted that the Tribunal has erred in exonerating the Insurance Company from indemnifying the insured. The insured had employed the driver after seeing his driving licence and had no way of knowing that the driving licence was not a genuine document. Even if, Insurance Company is exonerated, Tribunal should have ordered that the Insurance Company should pay the amount of compensation to the claimants at the first instance and then recover the same from the insured. In support of his arguments, learned counsel has placed reliance on the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in National Insurance Company Limited v. Pranay Sethi and others AIR 2017 (SC) 4973, wherein it was held as under:-

(3.) Learned counsel has next placed reliance on the decision of this Court in Amrit Paul Singh and Another. Vs. Tata AIG General Insurance Company Limited and Others 2018(7) Supreme Court Cases 558, wherein it was held as under:-