ORDER :

N.V. Ramana, J.

Delay condoned. Leave granted.

2. The appellant, who was severely injured in a motor accident, has preferred this appeal aggrieved by the quantum of compensation awarded by the Principal Bench of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh at Jabalpur by its judgment and order dated 4th April, 2013.

3. Briefly stated the undisputed facts are that on 13th April, 2004 when the appellant was travelling in a mini bus from Mandla to Bamhni, being driven by Respondent No. 1, suddenly it turned turtle at a place called Kishanpuri Ghat, resulting in grievous injuries to his left leg. He was rushed to the Medical Hospital at Jabalpur where he underwent treatment till 19th April, 2004. As his condition was deteriorating, he was referred to Victoria Hospital at Jabalpur where in order to save his life his left leg had to be amputated from the thigh portion and he remained there as an indoor patient till 5th June, 2004.

4. Owing to the permanent disability caused on account of the amputation of his leg, the appellant filed a claim petition before the Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Tribunal seeking compensation of Rs.10,10,000/-. The driver and owner of the bus were made parties along with the insurance company. For claiming the said amount, the appellant took a plea that he was a professional driver with a monthly earning of Rs.4,000/- which he lost due to the 90% disability sustained over the accident.

5. The Tribunal decided the claim petition observing that (i) the driver (Respondent No. 2 herein) drove the vehicle negligently which caused the accident; (ii) the claimant (appellant) suffered serious injuries due to the accident and consequently his left leg has been severed from the upper portion of thigh, causing permanent disability; and (iii) that on the date and at the time of the accident, the driver of the bus - Respondent No. 2 herein, did not possess a valid license for driving the vehicle. The Tribunal observed that the claimant-appellant could not prove the fact of his earning Rs.4,000/- p.m. by doing the driving job as he did not produce any driving license or authentic evidence to establish his monthly earnings. The Tribunal came to the conclusion that the annual income of the appellant would have been Rs.15,000/- and the accident caused a 60% decrease in his work efficiency. The Tribunal, therefore, fixed Rs.1,62,000/- for physical and mental pain and compensation for the future by applying a multiplier of ‘18’ in view of the appellant’s age being 29 at the time of the accident, besides Rs.60,000/- for an artificial limb, Rs.40,000/- for medical expenses and Rs.13,000/-towards expenses incurred for food, travelling etc. The Tribunal thereby directed a total compensation of Rs.2,75,000/- payable by the driver and owner of the bus severally and jointly together with interest @ 6% p.a. and exempted the insurance company from liability.

6. Aggrieved by the quantum of compensation ordered by the Tribunal exempting the liability of the insurance company, the appellant approached the High Court by way of a Miscellaneous Appeal. The High Court, upon deeming the annual income of the appellant to be Rs.24,000/- enhanced the compensation amount to Rs.2,44,800/- under the head ‘permanent disability’ and awarded the total amount of Rs.3,57,800/-, after applying a multiplier of ‘17’. Though the High Court agreed with the Tribunal that the insurance company is not liable to bear the burden of the awarded sum, in view of decision of this Court in National Insurance Co. Ltd. Vs. Swaran Singh & Ors. (2004) 3 SCC 297, it directed National Insurance Company to pay the awarded sum to the appellant first and recover the same from the driver and owner of the bus.

7. We have heard learned counsel for the parties. It is the contention of the appellant that the Courts below have committed a grave error in not considering the monthly income of the appellant at par even with an unskilled worker whose minimum wage in the State of Madhya Pradesh is