In an appeal filed before the Punjab and Haryana High Court against an award dated 10-07-2017 passed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Kurukshetra (MACT), whereby National Insurance Co. Ltd. (NICL) (appellant) was held liable to pay Rs. 19,60,000/- as compensation, along with interest at 7.5% per annum, a Single Judge Bench of Justice Sudeepti Sharma noted that the deceased was duly qualified to be treated as a skilled worker in the category of heavy vehicle driver and affirmed the findings of the MACT.
NICL contended that the compensation awarded by the MACT was on the higher side, as it had erred in assessing the monthly income of the deceased as Rs. 15,680/- by relying on the wage notification issued by the Deputy Commissioner, Kurukshetra, which applied to skilled labour/heavy vehicle drivers.
The Court stated that a court sitting in appeal does not substitute its own view for that of the Court below merely because an alternative view is possible. The Court perused the records of the case and stated that the driving license of the deceased reflected that he was authorised to drive heavy and medium goods vehicles. It was noted that the deceased was duly qualified to be treated as a skilled worker in the category of a heavy vehicle driver.
The Court referred to Saroj & Ors. v. IFFCO-Tokio General Insurance Co. & Ors. 2024 INSC 816 and stated that the approach adopted by the MACT was neither arbitrary nor erroneous. Thus, the Court affirmed the findings of the MACT while stating that it had correctly relied on the said wage notification to assess the monthly income of the deceased rather than adopting the minimum wages for skilled labour in the State of Haryana.
Hence, the appeal was dismissed, and the statutory amount deposited by NICL was ordered to be refunded.
Appearances:
For Appellant – Mr. Vishavjeet Bedi
For Respondents – Mr. Harinder Singh Sandhu
