Karnataka High Court: A Division Bench of Alok Aradhe and Nataraj Rangaswamy, JJ., disposed of the appeal after modifying the compensation.
The facts of the case are such that the deceased Sanjeev M Patil was crossing the road as a pedestrian at 6:00 am in morning when a bus being driven in a rash and negligent manner by its driver dashed against the deceased as a result the deceased received grievous injuries and succumbed to the same. The claimants filed a petition seeking compensation which was thereby granted keeping in mind his young age and monthly income. Aggrieved by the same, the present appeal was filed.
Counsel for appellants submitted that the Tribunal has erred in its judgment and the accident took place 75 meters from the toll booth and that the deceased suddenly tried to cross the road without observing the vehicles approaching the toll counter. It was also submitted that there is a gross error in assessing the monthly income and compensation is excessive.
Counsel for the respondents submitted that as per an independent eye witness it is clear that the accident happened due to the rash and negligent driving of the bus by the driver and the monthly income calculated is correct as the deceased was a permanent employee and infact sums awarded under the heads “loss of consortium” and “loss of love and affection” are on the lower side and deserves to be enhanced suitably.
The Court relied on judgment Mangala Ram v. Oriental Insurance Co., (2018) 5 SCC 656 and observed that the proceeding under the Act has to be decided on the basis of preponderance of probabilities and the claimant is not required to prove the accident beyond reasonable doubt.
The Court thus held that “he Tribunal on meticulous appreciation of the evidence on record as well as on the basis of preponderance of probabilities has rightly held that the accident occurred on account of the negligence of the driver of the KSRTC bus.”
On the question of amount of compensation the Court held that after perusing the salary slip and income tax return statements and keeping in mind the future aspects the compensation was modified.
In view of the above, appeal was disposed off.[Gowri S. Patil v. Divisional Controller, 2021 SCC OnLine Kar 447, decided on 04-02-2021]
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