High Court of Punjab and HaryanaFAO/1178/2020dismissed

Rajiv Sharma v. Sukhdev Singh And ORS

2025-08-04Ms. Justice Nidhi Gupta5 pages

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Present:

Mr. Shantanu Bansal, Advocate for the appellant.

(Oral) )1 The present application has been filed under Section 5 read with Section 151 CPC of the Limitation Act, 1965, for condonation of delay of 233 days in filing the appeal.

For the reasons mentioned in the application, duly supported by an affidavit, delay of 233 days in filing the appeal is condoned. CM stands disposed of.

The present appeal has been filed by the claimant who is the 36)year) old son of the deceased, seeking enhancement of the compensation of Rs.1,00,000/) awarded by the learned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Ambala, (hereinafter 'the Tribunal'), vide Award dated 21.01.2019 passed in MACT case No. 82 of 2016 instituted on 20.09.2016 under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, (in short 'MV Act'). The said lumpsum compensation of Rs.1,00,000/) was awarded to the appellant '

Brief facts of the case are that the learned Tribunal on the basis of the pleadings and oral and documentary evidence adduced before it had concluded that

the deceased Ishwar Chand had died due to injuries suffered by him in a motor vehicular accident that took place on 13.05.2016 due to rash and negligent driving of the truck)trailer bearing registration no. PB)13)Q)8366 (hereinafter 'the offending vehicle'), being driven by respondent no.1, owned by respondent No.2 and insured by respondent No.3.

Learned counsel for the appellant submits that the learned Tribunal was in error in holding that the appellant was not entitled to compensation as he was 36 years old at the time of death of his father)Ishwar Chand. It is submitted that merely because the appellant was major son of the deceased, he could not be denied compensation; especially in view of the fact that the appellant was dependent upon the income of the deceased and had also been residing with the deceased. In support of his contention, learnedcounsel relies upon judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Civil Appeal No. 2323 of 2025 arising out of SLP (C)No.444 of 2025, Seema Rani and others Vs. The Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. and others, the claimant wherein had been awarded compensation, despite being the major son of the deceased therein. It is accordingly prayed that impugned Award be modified, and compensation be granted to the appellant in accordance with law.

Heard. No other arguments.

It is admitted by the appellant that at the time of filing of the claim petition and at the time of death of his father Ishwar Chandon 13.05.2016, the appellant was 36 years old; and the deceased was 58 years old. The appellant in his cross)examination as PW)1 has admitted that he had got married in the year 2004. Admittedly, prior to the death of his father, he was residing with his family in Ludhiana. However, it has been pleaded by the appellant that six months prior to the accident, the appellant had moved to Ambala and was residing there with his father. Firstly, no evidence has been produced by the appellant in this regard.

Further, perusal of the file reveals that it has been admitted by the appellant in his cross)examination that even in Ambala, he was living in his own house. Clearly, therefore, there is nothing on record to indicate any financial dependence of the appellant upon the deceased. It is writ large that the appellant is only pleading dependency upon the deceased in order to procure the compensation amount. It is my clear view that the beneficial legislation of the Motor Vehicle Actcannot be misused and is not for distributing public money amongst undeserving claimants.No doubt as per S. 166 of the Act an application for compensation may be made by all or any of the 'legal representatives' of the deceased. The term 'legal representatives' is not defined in the Act. As per S.

2(11) CPC 'legal representative' is a person who in law represents the estate of the deceased and has been interpreted to include a person who intermeddles with the estate of the deceased. However, in the context of, and for the purposes of the MV Act and claims arising therefrom, the Hon'ble Supreme Court in case of Smt. Manjuri Bera v. The Oriental Insurance Company Ltd., (SC) : Law Finder Doc Id # 126848, has correctly drawn/upheld the distinction drawn between "right to apply for compensation" and "entitlement to compensation".

It is thus, clear that 'Entitlement to compensation' has been held to be of one who is 'dependent' on the earnings of the deceased. 6.

Further, ld. Counsel for the appellant has placed reliance on Seema (Supra). However, appellant can derive no benefit from the said judgment as in the particular facts of the said case, it was found that claimant therein was '

'.In the present case, as already noted above, nothing has been shown to indicate any

financial dependence of the appellant upon the deceased. On the contrary, it has been admitted by the appellant that he was living separately from his fatherin his own house with his family. No doubt Chapter)12 of the Act is a beneficial legislation yet, as cautioned by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in 'State of Haryana Vs. Jasbir Kaur'Law Finder Doc ID# 64043 and 'Divisional Controller K.S.R.T.C. Vs. Mahadev Shetty'. (2003) 7 SCC 197, the amount of compensation should be just and reasonable, it should neither be a bonanza nor a source of profit. In case of KSRTC Vs. Susamma Thomas 1994 Volume=II SCC 176, the Hon'ble Supreme Court has held that misplaced sympathy, generosity and benevolence cannot be the guiding factor for determining the compensation. 7.

In this circumstance, I find no error whatsoever in the reasoning of the learned Tribunal as contained in paragraph 19 of the impugned Award, which reads as follows:

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I find no error whatsoever in the above, reasoning of the learned Tribunal. In view of the above, the present appeal stands - !2 !! -.

Pending applications, if any, stand disposed of.

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