SRINAGAR — The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has reduced the compensation awarded to a motor accident victim for pain, suffering and loss of amenities from ₹5 lakh to ₹50,000, holding that compensation must be fair and reasonable and correspond to the circumstances of each case.
Justice Rajesh Sekhri passed the judgment while partly allowing an appeal filed by Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company against an award of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Srinagar, in the case of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company versus Aijaz Ahmad Najar and others.
The case arose from a road accident involving a motorcycle and a Tavera vehicle in which two persons travelling on the motorcycle suffered injuries.
The motorcycle driver suffered 50 per cent permanent disability, while Aijaz Ahmad Najar, who was riding pillion, was assessed to have suffered 5 per cent disability.
The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal had awarded ₹5 lakh each to the two claimants towards non-pecuniary damages for pain, suffering and trauma, along with interest at 9.5 per cent per annum.
The insurance company challenged the award insofar as it related to the ₹5 lakh compensation granted to Najar and also questioned the rate of interest.
The High Court observed that perfect compensation was difficult to achieve but said the guiding consideration for a tribunal should be to restore an accident victim, as far as money could reasonably do so, to the position occupied before the accident.
The court said compensation must be assessed in a fair and reasonable manner and should reflect the actual circumstances and consequences of the injuries suffered.
In Najar’s case, the High Court noted that his assessed disability was 5 per cent and that the evidence did not establish that the disability was permanent or that it had adversely affected his livelihood.
The court also noted that the Tribunal had awarded the same amount of ₹5 lakh towards pain, suffering and loss of amenities to both claimants despite a substantial difference in the nature and extent of their disabilities.
The High Court consequently held that the compensation awarded to Najar was not justified in the circumstances of the case.
It modified the award and reduced the non-pecuniary damages payable to Najar from ₹5 lakh to ₹50,000.
The court also reduced the interest rate from 9.5 per cent to 6 per cent per annum and directed that the compensation be paid with interest from the date of filing of the claim petition until realisation.
The judgment emphasised that compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act has to be “just and reasonable” and cannot be determined by mechanically applying an identical figure to claimants whose injuries and disabilities differ materially.
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