The Managing Director, Northwest Road Transport Corporation vs Rudrappa Parappa Mandi

Manjunath, J.—This appeal is by the North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation, Hubli.

The respondent herein was the claimant before the Claims Tribunal, Saundatti, in MVC No. 640/1994 arising out of a common accident, four claim petitions were presented before the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Saundatti. The respondent presented the claim petition on account of personal injuries sustained by him in a road traffic accident. Respondent claimant did not step into the witness box. One of the claimant in the series of cases namely, the claimant in MVC No. 639/94 was examined as PW1 and the wound certificate of the claimant/respondent in this appeal was marked as Ex.P-4. Based on the same Rs. 1,67,000/- has been awarded as compensation by the Tribunal. The judgment and award of the Tribunal is called in question in this appeal.

The main ground of attack of the appellant in this appeal is whether the tribunal can award compensation to the claimant for a personal injury sustained by him in a road traffic accident relaying upon the evidence of a third party.

Arising out of a common accident, four claim petitions were presented by different claimants. Before the tribunal, claimant in MVC No. 639/1994 was examined, through him wound certificates of other claimants were marked and based on the wound certificate produced by the claimant in MVC 639/1994 tribunal has awarded compensation in favour of other claimants also. After perusal of the records it is clear that the claimants in all MVC cases have not stepped into the witness box. There was no evidence before the tribunal to show that the pain and suffering of each of the claimants and the nature of injury sustained by them and also the disability caused to them.

When a claim petition was presented claiming compensation on account of the injury sustained by the claimant, tribunal is not expected to award compensation based on the evidence adduced by some third party. In order to award compensation, claimant has to step into the witness box and he has to depose in regard to the nature of injury sustained by him, the pain suffered by him and also the disability caused to him. The disability of one claimant cannot be established through the evidence of third party. The tribunal, in these cases, has committed an error in awarding compensation based on the evidence of the claimant in other claim cases. The tribunal can club all the cases together in order to give a finding on the question of negligence or on the question of liability. So far as the question of quantum is concerned the same has to be awarded after appreciating the evidence of each of the claimants separately. This Court is coming across several judgments of this nature wherein the tribunals are awarding compensation based on the wound certificate produced by a person other than the claimant. The procedure adopted by the tribunal in such cases are to be depricated. Considering the fact that no evidence was available to the tribunal to award compensation in favour of the claimant/respondent in this case, appeal requires to be allowed and the order and award of the tribunal requires to be set aside.

In the result, this appeal is allowed. Judgment and award passed in MVC No. 640/1994 dated 18.2.1999 are hereby set aside. Matter is remitted back to the tribunal, Saundatti for fresh consideration. The amount in deposit shall be refunded to the appellant/corporation. The tribunal shall dispose of the claim petition as early as possible as the claim was instituted in the year 1994.