A.Renuka vs The Managing Director on 29 July, 2008

       

  

  

 
 
  IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM

MACA.No. 302 of 2003()


1. A.RENUKA D/O. OMANA AGED 39 YEARS,
                      ...  Petitioner
2. G.R.PRAMOD S/O. GOPALKRISHNAN NAIR,
3. G.R.PRAVEEN

                        Vs



1. THE MANAGING DIRECTOR, KERALA STATE
                       ...       Respondent

2. KOCHUKUNJAN S/O. MANAS AGED 48 YEARS,

                For Petitioner  :SRI.D.KISHORE

                For Respondent  :THE MANAGING DIRECTOR, KSRTC

The Hon'ble MR. Justice C.N.RAMACHANDRAN NAIR
The Hon'ble MR. Justice V.K.MOHANAN

 Dated :29/07/2008

 O R D E R
                       C.N.RAMACHANDRAN NAIR &
                                  V.K.MOHANAN, JJ.
                  ....................................................................
                              M.A.C.A. No.302 of 2003
                  ....................................................................
                     Dated this the 29th day of July, 2008.

                                         JUDGMENT

Ramachandran Nair, J.

This appeal is filed against the award of the MACT holding that the

deceased has also contributed to the accident which led to his death. It is

seen that even though MACT has awarded compensation almost in terms of

the claim, 50% is reduced on account of contributory negligence by the

victim. Counsel for the appellants submitted that the award is perverse

because in the accident three persons who were standing or sitting in a shop

room died simultaneously and the victim in this case was one among them.

Even though the MACT awarded full compensation to the legal heirs of the

other two victims vide award dated 11.8.2000 in O.P.(M.V.) Nos.78/1998

and 277/1998, the MACT wrongly found contributory negligence on the

part of the victim in this case.

2. We have gone through the award passed by the MACT in the

connected case, copy of which is produced before us. We find force in the

contention of the appellants that in the award passed in the connected case

MACT found no contributory negligence on the part of the other two

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victims who died along with the deceased in this case. The records

pertaining to the Police case against the driver of the KSRTC bus is also

produced before us which clearly show that all the three victims who died

on account of injury sustained in the same accident were standing on the

door step of a building on the road side when the accident occurred.

Admittedly when the driver of the KSRTC bus tried to save a motorcyclist,

the bus went out of the road, hit all the three victims and all the three

succumbed to injuries. The first appellant herein is the wife of one of the

victims by name Gopalakrishnan Nair and the other appellants are the

children of the deceased person. We do not find any material for the

MACT to hold that the victim was negligent and he partly contributed to the

accident. On the other hand, records and the award in the connected case

establish beyond doubt that the accident was caused on account of the

KSRTC bus hitting people standing or sitting on the road side building.

Probably the driver lost control in the course of saving a motorcyclist. In

any case there is absolutely no material to hold that the accident was due to

the contributory negligence of the victim in this case. Accordingly, this part

of the award is vacated with direction to the KSRTC to deposit the full

compensation amount awarded in favour of the appellants. However, we

do not find any justification for the MACT to award interest at 9%. Going

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by consistent decisions of the Supreme Court, we reduce the interest to

7.5% p.a. from date of application till date of deposit, which the KSRTC

will deposit along with the award amount. The appeal is allowed to the

above extent.

C.N.RAMACHANDRAN NAIR
Judge

V.K.MOHANAN
Judge
pms