Recently, the Supreme Court emphasized that the Motor Accident Claim Tribunal (MACT) is not restricted to awarding compensation below the amount claimed by the claimant.
The Court clarified that if the claimant is eligible for more than what was originally claimed, they should receive the full compensation as determined by the court.
The bench, consisting of Justices PS Narasimha and Pankaj Mithal, referred to the ruling in Mona Baghel & Ors. vs. Sajjan Singh Yadav & Ors. (2022 LiveLaw (SC) 734) and noted that under Section 168 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, the Tribunal or Court’s role is to provide “just compensation.” Therefore, there is no limit preventing the Court from awarding compensation greater than the claimed amount.
The Court stated, “The decision clearly establishes that there is no limitation on the court awarding compensation exceeding the claimed amount. The Tribunal or Court’s duty under Section 168 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 is to award just compensation. Given that the Act is designed to be beneficial, ‘just compensation’ should be fair and reasonable based on the evidence presented, regardless of the claimed amount.”
In the present case, the MACT awarded the Appellant Rs. 19,55,250, while the claimed amount was Rs. 38,34,000. On appeal, the Appellant limited their claim to Rs. 23,55,250 (Rs. 19,55,250 plus Rs. 4,00,000).
The High Court adjusted the compensation to Rs. 28,00,375 but did not grant this amount due to the Appellant’s failure to pay court fees on Rs. 28,00,375, only paying on Rs. 23,55,250.
The Court found that the High Court erred by not awarding the full compensation of Rs. 28,00,375 and noted that the issue of non-payment of court fees could be corrected by paying the additional fees required for the difference (Rs. 28,00,375 minus Rs. 23,55,250, which equals Rs. 4,45,125).
The Court allowed the appellants to amend their claim amount and pay the additional court fees of Rs. 4,45,125 within four weeks. Subsequently, the determined compensation amount will be paid to the appellants within four weeks thereafter.
Posted and reproduced in Public Interest by
Adv. Sulaiman Bhimani Legal Consultant
Expert in RERA & Consumer Matters, Co-operative Scty Matters,
Deem Conveyance, Family Matters, and Property Disputes.
Human and Civil Rights Campaigner
President Citizens Justice Forum https://citizensjusticeforum.in
YouTube Channel https://tinyurl.com/CitizensJusticeForum
NEW CHANNEL FOR STOCK MARKET https://tinyurl.com/GreenWallet
WhatsApp +91 99877 43676