Real judgements, distilled

Legal Case Shots

Court judgements broken down into the case type, how the decision played out, and the lesson worth remembering, with the full judgement available as a PDF.

Motor Accident Compensation LawSupreme Court of India

Prem & Ors. v. National Insurance Company Ltd. & Ors.

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 9199 of 2015)Decided 2 Nov 2015
Civil Appeal No. 9199 of 2015
Justice Anil R. Dave · Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel

Background

The appellants were victims of a motor accident who received compensation from the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, which they considered too low. They approached the Supreme Court, which on 7 September 2015 observed that the award was on the lower side and that Rs. 6 lakh would be appropriate. The Court gave the insurance company an opportunity to object by the next hearing date, failing which the higher amount would be granted.

Decision Breakdown

The insurance company was served but no one appeared for it on the next date. The Court therefore presumed that the insurer had no objection to the higher figure. It increased the compensation payable to the appellants to Rs. 6 lakh, with interest as awarded by the Tribunal, and allowed the appeal with no order as to costs. The decision is final on the compensation amount.

Lesson Learnt

Injured persons or their families may be able to seek a higher compensation amount on appeal if the award is inadequate. Insurers that receive notice of an appeal should participate in the hearing, because silence can be treated as acceptance of a higher figure.

Prem & Ors. v. National Insurance Company Ltd. & Ors. – Legal Case Shots | LegalAware