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Chandrakanta Tiwari v. New India Assurance Company Ltd. & Anr.

Civil Appeal · 2020 INSC 419Decided 8 Jun 2020
Civil Appeal No. 2527 of 2020
Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman · Justice Navin Sinha · Justice B.R. Gavai

Background

The claimant's son, a pillion rider on a motorcycle, was killed in a 2004 road accident caused by the rash driving of the vehicle's owner. The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal awarded compensation of about Rs. 1.99 lakh, but the High Court later set aside the award entirely, reasoning that the claimant had not proved the circumstances of the accident and that the deceased lacked a valid driving licence.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held the High Court was wrong on both counts. The claim had been filed under Section 163A of the Motor Vehicles Act, a "no-fault liability" provision under which a claimant need not prove negligence or wrongdoing by anyone at all, so the absence of an eyewitness was irrelevant. It also found the driving-licence point improper since the insurance company itself had abandoned that issue before the Tribunal, only for the High Court to revive it anyway. The Court restored the Tribunal's award but corrected a factual error: the "multiplier" used to calculate future loss of income had wrongly been based on the mother-claimant's age instead of the 28-year-old deceased's age, so it corrected the multiplier from 8 to 17, increasing the compensation payable.

Lesson Learnt

Under Section 163A of the Motor Vehicles Act, a compensation claimant does not need to prove fault or negligence by anyone: this "no-fault" route exists precisely to make claims faster and simpler for accident victims' families.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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