In an appeal filed before the Supreme Court against a judgment of the Madhya Pradesh High Court dated 21-02-2024, whereby the compensation awarded by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Katni (MACT), was reduced, a Bench comprising Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Augustine George Masih overturned the judgment of the High Court and reinstated the award passed by the MACT.
On 15-11-2021, the deceased was hit by a vehicle driven in a rash and negligent manner, which resulted in his death on 18-11-2021. A First Information Report (FIR) was registered regarding the accident. The claimants succeeded in their claim petition before the MACT and were awarded Rs. 50,47,000/- as compensation, with the deceased’s income assessed at Rs. 24,000/- per month.
Upon appeal, the High Court reduced the compensation to Rs. 19,83,080/- on the grounds that the income and occupation of the deceased were not proven and re-assessed the monthly income of the deceased to Rs. 8,800/-. The appellants asserted the deceased’s monthly income at Rs. 24,000/- based on the testimony of the deceased’s wife and employer.
The Court noted that the employer had also testified to the fact that the deceased used to work as a J.C.B. machine operator and stated that MACT’s assessment regarding the monthly income appeared to be legally sound. It was stated that the High Court erred in questioning the deceased’s income and occupation, since the employer’s testimony was already in evidence. Hence, the Court overturned the High Court’s observations and reinstated the award granted by MACT.
The Court allowed the appeal and held that the observations of MACT regarding the liability of the insurance company would remain as they were. The amount of compensation was directed to be transferred directly to the appellants’ bank account within four weeks after the bank account details are supplied.
Appearances:
For Petitioners – Mr. Siddharth R. Gupta, Mr. Yogesh Soni, Mr. Shantanu Sharma, Mr. Aman Agarawal, Mr. Uddaish Palya, Ms. Surbhi Saxena, Ms. Astha Singh; Mr. Mrigank Prabhakar (AOR).
For Respondents – Mr. Gopal Singh (AOR), Mr. Yoshit Jain
