In composite negligence, an insurer may recover amounts paid beyond its share from the other tortfeasor.

The claimant appealed under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, against the Tribunal’s award of ₹55,200 in MACP No. 173 of 2006, seeking enhancement on grounds including pain and suffering, transportation, special diet and medical expenses.

The insurer did not dispute the accident-related facts or liability; the parties accepted the claimant’s 2.5% injury assessment. The Tribunal had apportioned negligence equally between two tortfeasors, and the insurer sought liberty to recover from the other tortfeasor any amount paid beyond its share.

1. Whether the Tribunal’s award of ₹55,200 should be enhanced to provide just compensation.

2. Whether the insurer could recover from the other tortfeasor any amount paid in excess of its liability in a case of composite negligence.

Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, provides for an appeal against a Tribunal’s award.

The Act’s beneficial purpose requires compensation to be just, fair and reasonable, assessed through a holistic and pragmatic approach rather than a niggardly one; the Tribunal must endeavour to award just compensation.

The Court also considered Khenyei v. New India Assurance Company Limited, (2015) 9 SCC 273, cited in support of the insurer’s request for recovery in a case of composite negligence.

The Court accepted that the award warranted enhancement, invoking the Motor Vehicles Act’s requirement of just and fair compensation, and found the case fit for an additional global award of ₹19,800.

It did not set out a head-by-head calculation for that enhancement. On composite negligence, it granted the insurer liberty to recover from the other tortfeasor the amount paid in excess of its liability, consistent with the recovery relief sought by the insurer.

The insurer was directed to deposit the enhanced amount of ₹19,800 with interest at 9% per annum from the date of the claim petition until realization, within eight weeks; the Tribunal was directed to disburse the amount in accordance with the prescribed procedure. The insurer was granted liberty to recover any amount paid in excess of its liability from the other tortfeasor, and the Tribunal’s remaining directions were left undisturbed.