Inconsistent accounts do not defeat a motor accident claim when injury in the accident is proved on probabilities.

The claimant sought compensation under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, alleging that a bus insured by National Insurance Company Ltd. struck him on 13 December 2019 and caused serious injuries and permanent disablement.

The insurer contested the claim; the vehicle owner did not.

The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal awarded ₹56,38,103 with 6% annual interest.

The insurer appealed, disputing the claimant’s account of the accident and contending that future prospects should have been assessed at 25%, rather than 30%.

1. Whether inconsistencies in the evidence about the claimant’s position at the time of the accident undermined his claim that he was injured in the road traffic accident.

2. Whether the Tribunal erred in calculating future prospects at 30%, and whether the compensation award required modification.

The claim was brought under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

The Court stated that motor accident claims are assessed on the touchstone of preponderance of probabilities, not proof beyond reasonable doubt, and that the beneficial character of the legislation requires the Court to ascertain the truth from the evidence as a whole.

No precedent was cited.

The Court found that, despite inconsistencies in the claimant’s and witness’s accounts and in some medical records, the evidence established the claimant’s presence at the accident and his injury in the collision involving the insured bus.

The police report and medical documents supported that conclusion; the discrepancies did not defeat the claim under the applicable standard of proof.

On quantum, the Court accepted the insurer’s submission that future prospects should be 25%.

Applying that rate to the loss-of-earning figure, alongside the other compensation components, it calculated total compensation at ₹54,29,772 and rounded the award to ₹54,00,000 as just and reasonable.

The claimant was held entitled to ₹54,00,000, with interest at 6% per annum from the date the claim was filed until the date of the High Court’s order.

The insurer was directed to deposit the amount with the Registrar General within eight weeks of communication of the order; no further deposit was required if the Tribunal’s award had already been deposited.

The claimant may withdraw the compensation upon completing the required formalities, and any balance with accrued interest is to be returned to the insurer.