Court reduced motor accident compensation after claimant accepted its proposal and insurer raised no objection.

Following a motorcycle accident on 31 July 2022, the injured claimant sought compensation through a claim represented by his father.

The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Cuttack, awarded ₹68,92,278 with simple interest at 6% per annum from the claim-filing date, 17 August 2022.

The insurer appealed under Section 173(1) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, challenging the quantum of compensation.

The judgment’s caption identifies the claimant as Alok Kumar Jena, while its account of the accident refers to the injured person as Aditya Kumar Jena.

1. Whether the compensation awarded by the Tribunal should be reduced in the insurer’s appeal.

2. Whether the Court’s proposed reduced compensation could be adopted where the claimant accepted it and the insurer did not dispute it.

The appeal was brought under Section 173(1) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, which provides for an appeal against an award of a Claims Tribunal.

The Court also referred to Taslim Parvin & Another v. (Smt.) Usha Devi & Another, 2018(2) TAC 22 (SC), as relevant authority.

The judgment does not set out a specific legal test from that decision; it resolves the quantum issue in light of the parties’ positions and the interests of justice.

The insurer’s principal challenge concerned the amount of compensation, and the Court considered that issue after hearing the parties and reviewing the record.

It proposed compensation of ₹65,00,000 with 6% simple interest from the claim-filing date.

The claimant accepted the proposal by memo, while the insurer did not dispute it and left the matter to the Court’s discretion; the second respondent also considered the proposal just.

Relying on the cited Supreme Court decision and these circumstances, the Court concluded that adopting the proposed amount would best serve the interests of justice.

It directed the insurer to pay within eight weeks; upon deposit, the amount was to be disbursed to the claimant in terms of the award.

The statutory deposit and accrued interest were to be refunded to the insurer upon proof of deposit of the modified compensation before the Tribunal.