PARMINDER SINGH versus NEW INDIA ASSURANCE CO. LTD. & ORS.

Citation: [2019] 8 S.C.R. 986 · Decided: 01-07-2019 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: INDU MALHOTRA · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed

Cited by 6 judgment(s) · cites 3 · see the full citation network in Lexace

Judgment (excerpt)

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SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2019] 8 S.C.R.
PARMINDER SINGH
v.
NEW INDIA ASSURANCE CO. LTD. & ORS.
(Civil Appeal No. 5123 of 2019)
JULY 01, 2019
[INDU MALHOTRA AND M. R. SHAH, JJ.]
Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 – Permannet disbaility due to
accident – Driver of the offending vehicle not possessing valid driver
license – Liability of the Insrance Company – Principle of ‘pay and
recover’ – Appellant-driver was driving a car in which a Cabinet
Minister in Punjab, was being driven from Ludhiana – Car rammed
by a truck coming from the opposite direction at a very high speed
and being driven in a rash and negligent manner – Accident
occurred due to the contributory negligence of the driver of another
truck which was wrongly parked on the road– Minister succumbed
to the injuries while the appellant suffered grievous injuries– In
Claim Petition filed by the appellant against the owners and drivers
of the two offending trucks, along with the insurer of the two
offending trucks viz. the Respondent-Insurance Company, MACT
awarded the appellant Rs.10,43,666/- along with interest @7.5%
p.a. – High Court enhanced the compensation to Rs.21,06,000/- –
On appeal, held: MACT computed the compensation payable to the
appellant on the basis of notional income of Rs.6,000/- p.m. on the
ground that no evidence of his income was produced – Appellant
has produced an affidavit by his employer as per which the appellant
was earning Rs.10,000/- p.m. at the time of the accident – Taking
the income of the appellant as Rs.10,000/- p.m., with future prospects
@50% as awarded by the High Court, the total income of the
Appellant would come to Rs.15,000/- p.m - Appellant was 23 years
old at the time when the accident occurred – Applying the multiplier
of 18, the loss of future earnings suffered by the appellant would
work out to Rs. 15,000 X 12 X 18 =Rs. 32,40,000/- – High Court
rightly assessed the functional disability of the appellant as 100%
– Appellant is suffering from hemiplegia due to which the left side
of his body is barely functioning – On account of the permanent
   [2019] 8 S.C.R. 986
986
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disability suffered, the Appellant was deprived of getting married
and having a normal family life – His capacity to earn a living has
been completely shattered and he has a become fully dependant
person – Compensation awarded towards his medical expenses is
highly insufficient – Appellant has undergone 5 surgeries, including
a surgery for a severe head injury, and 3 throat surgeries –
Rs.7,50,000/- awarded towards hospitalization and medical expenses
incurred in the past– Rs. 10,00,000/- awarded towards medical
expenses and attendant charges – View of the High Court that the
Respondent is absolved of the liability to bear the compensation, as
evidence has been produced from the office of the Regional
Transport Office to prove that the drivers of the two offending trucks
were driving with invalid driving licenses, affirmed – Respondent
entitled to recover the amount from the owners and drivers of the
two offending trucks.
Allowing the appeal, the Court
HELD : 1.1 The MACT has computed the compensation
payable to the Appellant on the basis of a notional income of
Rs. 6,000/- p.m. on the ground that no evidence of his income
was produced. The Appellant has however, produced an Affidavit
by his employer in Supreme Court. As per the said Affidavit, the
Appellant was earning Rs. 10,000/- p.m. at the time of the accident.
On the basis of the Affidavit filed by the employer of the Appellant,
it is accepted that the income of the Appellant was Rs.10,000/-
p.m. at the time of the accident, for the purpose of computing the
compensation payable to him. Taking the income of the Appellant
as Rs. 10,000/- p.m., with Future Prospects @50% as awarded
by the High Court, the total income of the Appellant would come
to Rs. 15,000/- p.m. The Appellant was 23 years old at the time
when the accident occurred. Applying the multiplier of 18, the
loss of future earnings suffered by the Appellant would work out
to Rs. 15,000 X 12 X 18 = Rs. 32,40,000/-. The High Court has
rightly assessed the functional disability of the Appellant as 100%.
The Appellant is suffering from hemiplegia due to which the left
side of his body is barely functioning. On account of the permanent
disability suffered, the Appellant was deprived of getting married
and having a normal family life. His capacity to earn a living has
PARMINDER SINGH v. NEW INDIA ASSURANCE CO. LTD.
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