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The amount of compensation granted to the claimant in a motor vehicle accident claim was increased by the Madras High Court in the case of Kuralvani v. Kathirvelan through a division Bench of Pushpa Sathyanaryana and S. Kannammal, JJ.

FACTS OF THE CASE

The deceased was on a two-wheeler when the truck’s driver, acting hastily and carelessly, slammed into them. The dead was hurt and died as a result of the aforementioned impact.

In light of the foregoing, the decedent’s lawful heirs, the appellants filed a claim petition. The dead did not have a valid driver’s licence, according to the insurance company, and the accident happened as a result of their recklessness and negligence.

The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal determined that the accident was caused by the deceased’s intoxicated driving as well as the hasty and careless driving of the first respondent’s driver, and it fixed the liability at 50:50 after taking into account the oral and documentary evidence.

An appeal in opposition to the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal’s ruling was filed.

JUDGEMENT

The High Court noted that there was no indication of alcohol consumption in the post-mortem report. The court further stated that the dead could not be held accountable for contributory negligence of 50% since there was insufficient evidence to show that the accident was caused by his or her intoxicated driving.

According to the sketch included in the investigation report, the deceased was travelling north to south on the left side of the road when he was struck by the offending vehicle, a lorry travelling in the opposite way, and died as a result. Therefore, even on that basis, the deceased cannot be blamed for negligence.

According to Section 203 of the MV Act, a breath test is required for demonstrating an offence under Section 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. It was determined that the deceased was not intoxicated because the aforementioned conditions were not met.

10% of the payout was taken away because the dead didn’t have a valid driver’s licence. He merely had a learner’s permit.

Accordingly, the amount of compensation granted to the claimant in a motor vehicle accident claim was increased by the Court from Rs 30,89,430 to Rs 83,35,000.

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JUDGEMENT REVIEWED BY NISHTHA GARHWAL

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