Insurer Must Pay Enhanced Accident Compensation Before Recovering It From the Vehicle Owner.

The claimant, aged 19 at the time, sustained injuries in a road traffic accident on 11 August 2021 involving an auto-rickshaw.

She claimed that the accident resulted from its driver’s rash and negligent driving.

The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal awarded her Rs. 65,060, with interest at 6% per annum, and held the insurer liable to pay the compensation and recover it from the vehicle owner; that direction was omitted from the operative portion of the Tribunal’s order.

The claimant appealed under Section 173(1) of the Motor Vehicles Act, seeking enhancement.

Whether the compensation awarded by the Tribunal required enhancement in light of the claimant’s injuries and resulting loss.

Whether the insurer should be directed to deposit the enhanced compensation and recover it from the vehicle owner.

The appeal was brought under Section 173(1) of the Motor Vehicles Act.

The Court assessed compensation under heads including pain and suffering, loss of amenities, and loss of income during the laid-up period, and applied an interest rate of 6% per annum.

The judgment cites no precedent or further statutory provision.

Considering the claimant’s head, shoulder, lip, and dental injuries, the Court found the Tribunal’s awards for pain and suffering and loss of amenities inadequate, and concluded that she required two months’ rest, warranting higher compensation for lost income.

It therefore awarded enhanced compensation under those heads.

The Court also directed the insurer to deposit the enhancement and recover it from the vehicle owner, consistent with the Tribunal’s finding on liability.

The judgment contains an apparent arithmetic inconsistency: the three enhancement amounts stated in paragraph 8—Rs. 20,000, Rs. 20,000, and Rs. 15,000—total Rs. 55,000, although the paragraph and operative order specify a total enhancement of Rs. 45,000.

The claimant was awarded enhanced compensation of Rs. 45,000, with interest at 6% per annum from the date of the claim petition until realization.

The insurer was directed to deposit that amount with interest before the Tribunal within six weeks and could thereafter recover it from the vehicle owner.

The claimant was entitled to release of the entire enhanced compensation.