Chhattisgarh HC: Father Must Provide Maintenance and Marriage Expenses to Unmarried Adult Daughter  ||  Delhi HC Rules That ‘Hermès’ and the 3D Shape of its ‘Birkin’ Bag are Well-Known Trademarks in India  ||  Kerala HC: Arrest is Illegal if Accused isn’t Produced in 24 Hours and Rearrest From Prison is Barred  ||  Supreme Court: Treating Every Sour Relationship as Rape Undermines the Seriousness of the Offence  ||  Supreme Court: Section 7 IBC Application Cannot be Rejected for Curable Defects in Affidavit  ||  NCLT Kochi: Sec 7 Insolvency Cannot be Filed Against Guarantor Without First Enforcing the Guarantee  ||  Patna High Court: Mere Two-And-A-Half-Year Incarceration is Not Sufficient for Bail under UAPA  ||  Bombay HC: Insolvency Cannot be Used to Evade a Family Court’s Maintenance Order  ||  Kerala HC: Forklifts and Factory Cranes Are Motor Vehicles and Must be Registered under MV Act  ||  Guj HC: Edible Crude Palm Kernel Oil Qualifies for Duty Exemption; End-Use Condition not Applicable    

United India Insurance Co. Ltd. vs. Farida Sarosh Poonawala and Ors. - (High Court of Delhi) (24 Jan 2022)

Every legal representative who suffers on account of death of a person due to a motor vehicle accident should have a remedy for realisation of compensation

MANU/DE/0244/2022

Motor Vehicles

Appellant impugns award whereby the detailed accident report has been disposed of and compensation awarded. Learned counsel for the Appellant contends that, the Tribunal has erred in awarding compensation to Respondent no. 2 and 3 who were children of the wife of the deceased from her first marriage. He submits that, they cannot be treated as dependant family members of the deceased.

The Supreme Court in Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation Vs. Ramanbhai Prabhatbhai & Another, has held that having regard to the condition of the Indian society, every legal representative who suffers on account of the death of a person due to a motor vehicle accident should have a remedy for realisation of compensation.

Further, Supreme Court has held that, in Indian family brothers, sisters and brothers' children and sometimes foster children live together and they are dependent upon the bread-winner of the family and if the bread-winner is killed on account of a motor vehicle accident, there is no justification to deny them compensation.

A similar view has been taken by the Supreme Court in N. Jayasree & Ors. Vs. Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Ltd., wherein the Supreme Court has held that the term 'legal representative' should be given a wider interpretation for the purpose of Chapter XII of MV Act and it should not be confined only to mean the spouse, parents and children of the deceased. The Supreme Court held that the Motor Vehicle Act is a benevolent legislation enacted for the object of providing monetary relief to the victims or their families. Therefore, the Motor Vehicle Act calls for a liberal and wider interpretation to serve the real purpose underlying the enactment and fulfil its legislative intent.

There is no infirmity in the impugned award and the computation of compensation by the tribunal. Appeal dismissed.

Tags : COMPENSATION   AWARD   LEGALITY  

Share :        

Disclaimer | Copyright 2025 - All Rights Reserved