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Judgment
Sanjay K. Agrawal, J
The appellant (Insurance Company) has preferred this appeal under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 (hereinafter, “the Act of 1988”) challenging the impugned award dated 24/06/2022 passed by learned Additional Motor Accident Claims Tribunal Pendra Road, District Bilaspur (C.G.) in Claim Case No. 4/2020 whereby compensation of Rs. 9,50,000/- has been awarded in favour of respondents No. 1 and 2/claimants for the death of their daughter namely Ku. Anshika Verma, aged about 4 years and the appellant (Insurance Company) has been directed to firstly pay the compensation amount to the claimants and thereafter, recover it from the driver and owner of the offending vehicle i.e. respondents No. 3 and 4 herein.
Respondents No. 1 and 2/claimants filed application under Section 166 of the Act of 1988 whereby learned Claims Tribunal, after appreciation of oral and documentary evidence on record, held that on 07/09/2018 at about 1 PM, on account of rash and negligent driving of respondent No. 3 herein, the accident occurred which led to the death of Kumari Anshika Verma. The breach of terms and conditions of the insurance policy was found proved and the Claims Tribunal proceeded to award Rs. 9,50,000/- in favour of the claimants and directed the appellant (Insurance Company) to pay and recover.
Learned counsel for the appellant would submit that the compensation awarded by the Claims Tribunal in favour of the claimants is on the higher side and moreover, since the breach of terms and conditions of the Insurance Police has been found proved, the Claims Tribunal ought not to have directed the appellant (Insurance Company) to pay and recover, as such, the impugned award is liable to be set aside.
Learned counsel for respondents No. 1 and 2 would submit that the Claims Tribunal has erred in holding that the offending vehicle was being plied in breach of terms and conditions of the insurance policy and thereby, exonerating the appellant (Insurance Company) from the liability of payment of compensation.
I have heard learned counsel for the parties, considered their rival submissions made herein-above and went through the record with utmost circumspection.
Having heard learned counsel for the parties and having gone through the record, learned Claims Tribunal has awarded Rs. 6,00,000/- as loss of dependency, Rs. 2,40,000/- as future prospect, Rs. 15,000/- as loss of estate, Rs. 15,000/- as funeral expenses and Rs. 80,000/-as loss of consortium, thereby, granting total compensation of Rs. 9,50,000/- in favour of the claimants, which in my considered opinion, is just and proper as the deceased, aged about 4 years, was the sole daughter of the claimants. Moreover, learned Claims Tribunal has rightly directed the appellant (Insurance Company) to firstly pay the compensation amount to the claimants and thereafter, recover it from the driver and owner of the offending vehicle. As such, I do not find any good ground to interfere with the impugned award.
Accordingly, this appeal is dismissed leaving the parties to bear their own cost(s).