Parents Of Man Killed In Tractor Accident Keep Rs 50,000 Award As Orissa HC Rejects Insurer’s Passenger Defence Raised Only On Appeal

The claimants sought compensation after their son was killed in an accident involving a tractor and trolley on 9 December 1983.

The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Keonjhar, directed the insurer to pay Rs. 50,000, with interest at 9% per annum if payment was not made within 45 days.

The insurer appealed under Section 173(1) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, with a delay of 43 days, and sought condonation under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963.

On appeal, the insurer argued that the deceased was a gratuitous passenger and that it was therefore not liable; it had not raised or substantiated that contention before the Tribunal.

Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963 permits condonation where sufficient cause for delay is shown; the Court applied a liberal, pragmatic approach to a short delay, balancing substantial justice against technical considerations.

Section 173(1) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 provided the basis for the appeal.

The Court also applied the principle that a factual contention unsupported by a plea or evidence before the Tribunal cannot be accepted for the first time at the appellate stage.

The Court considered the insurer’s explanation—late processing of the file—and the short duration of the delay sufficient to justify condonation, particularly because the appeal could be decided on its merits.

It rejected the gratuitous-passenger argument because the insurer had neither pleaded it nor produced evidence before the Tribunal.

Finding no apparent error in the compensation award, the Court nevertheless modified the interest direction: it reduced the rate to 6% per annum and made interest payable from the date the claim application was filed, taking account of the claimants’ prolonged wait for compensation.

It affirmed the compensation award of Rs. 50,000, modified the interest to simple interest at 6% per annum from the date of filing of the claim application until realization, and directed the insurer to pay within eight weeks.

The statutory deposit and accrued interest were to be refunded upon proof of payment to the Tribunal.