No Specific Bar That Non-Pecuniary Damages Are Not To Be Awarded In Claim Cases Filed Under Sections 163A or 164 of Motor Vehicles Act: Allahabad High Court

The Appeal before the High Court was filed under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 by the insurance company of the offending Loader against the impugned judgment of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal whereby, compensation of Rs 5,70,000 alongwith interest was awarded to the claimants for the untimely death of the deceased in a motor accident which was ordered to be indemnified by the appellant insurance company.

The Single Bench of Justice Sandeep Jain held, "There is no differentiation insofar as the payment of non pecuniary damages is concerned in claim cases filed u/s 166 or 163A or 164 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. There is no specific bar that non pecuniary damages are not to be awarded in claim cases filed u/s 163A or 164 of the Motor Vehicles Act,1988."

Advocate Shrey Singh represented the Appellant.

Factual Background

The incident dates back to the year 2018 when the deceased was waiting for a conveyance to go to his village by the roadside and a herd of 4- 5 cows came in front of the offending Loader. In order to save them, the driver of the loader lost control of the vehicle, which hit the deceased, who was standing by the roadside and thereafter, the offending Loader overturned. The deceased was taken to the Hospital where he died during treatment.

The deceased was aged about 34 years at the time of the accident and he used to sell vegetables, thereby earning Rs 3,300 per month. The claimant filed a claim petition under Section 163A of the Motor Vehicles Act claiming compensation of Rs 7,42,000. The tribunal awarded Rs 5,70,000 compensation alongwith interest and the same was ordered to be indemnified by the insurer of the offending vehicle. It was in such circumstances that the appeal came to be filed by the Insurance Company.

Reasoning

The Bench noted that neither the owner nor the driver of the offending loader had appeared in the witness box to contradict the claim. No independent evidence was led by the insurance company to dispute the factum of the accident. "Since this petition has been filed under Section 163-A of the Motor Vehicles Act, the claimants are not required to prove the negligence of the offending vehicle", the order read.

As per the Bench, the Tribunal had not erred in concluding that the accident took place involving the Loader in which the deceased died, due to the injuries suffered in the accident. According to the claimants there was no negligence of any person, as such, the FIR was not registered and only an information was given to the police station Basrehar on the basis of which a G.D. Entry was recorded. “In these facts, the claimants successfully proved the factum of accident and accordingly, the tribunal has not erred in fastening the liability on the insurer of the offending vehicle”, it added.

The Bench noted that the tribunal considered that there is a notification of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways which has amended the Second Schedule of the Act, mandating that in a claim petition under Section 163A, in death cases, compensation of Rs 5 lakh is to be awarded. It was based on this notification that the tribunal had awarded compensation of Rs 5 lakh. As per the Bench, the tribunal had only awarded Rs 70,000 to the claimants towards non-pecuniary damages, which was less than the amount of Rs 90,000 to which they were entitled. The Bench held that the same could not be reduced any further and could not be said to be erroneous.

Thus, dismissing the appeal, the Bench held the tribunal had not erred in awarding total compensation of Rs 5,70,000 along with interest.

Cause Title: National Insurance Company Limited, Through Its Branch Manager v. Sudha Kumari (Neutral Citation: 2025:AHC:187154)

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