Two Women Workers Crushed By Thresher On Insured Tractor; Chhattisgarh HC Directs Insurer To Pay Compensation First, Then Recover From Driver And Owner

On 16 November 2021, Ahilya Bai and Lata Seth were working with other labourers when a thresher attached to an Eicher tractor overturned, crushing and killing them.

Their dependants obtained awards from the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal: Rs.17,12,400 in Ahilya Bai’s claim and Rs.20,64,880 in Lata Seth’s claim.

The claimants appealed under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, seeking enhancement under the conventional heads and an order requiring the insurer to pay first and recover from the driver and owner.

The Tribunal had fastened liability on the driver and owner; the tractor was insured.

Under National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi, (2017) 16 SCC 680, the amounts for loss of estate, funeral expenses and consortium are subject to a 10% increase in the circumstances applied by the Court; the Court assessed consortium at Rs.44,000 per claimant.

The “pay and recover” principle, as considered in Sunita and Ors. v. United India Insurance Co. Ltd. and Ors., 2025 SCC OnLine SC 1464, permits the insurer to be directed to satisfy the compensation award first and then recover from the responsible owner and driver.

The appeals were brought under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

Applying Pranay Sethi, the Court recalculated the conventional heads for Ahilya Bai’s three claimants as Rs.16,500 for loss of estate, Rs.16,500 for funeral expenses and Rs.1,32,000 for consortium, totalling Rs.1,65,000.

Against the Tribunal’s Rs.1,50,000, this yielded an additional Rs.15,000.

For Lata Seth’s four claimants, the recalculated total was Rs.2,09,000, compared with Rs.1,90,000 awarded by the Tribunal, yielding an additional Rs.19,000.

As the vehicle was insured, the Court applied the “pay and recover” principle and directed the insurer to pay the compensation before recovering it from the owner and driver.

The claimants in MAC No. 700 of 2023 were granted an additional Rs.15,000, and those in MAC No. 704 of 2023 an additional Rs.19,000, each with interest at 6% per annum from the date of filing the claim petition until realisation.

The insurer was directed to pay the compensation awarded in both matters and thereafter recover it from the driver and owner.

The Registry was also directed to communicate the enhanced amounts to the claimants in Hindi.