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2022 Supreme(SC) 1836
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
Hemant Gupta, Sudhanshu Dhulia, JJ.
Babu Khan – Appellant
Versus
National Insurance Co. Limited & Ors. – Respondents
Civil Appeal No. 6274 of 2022 (Arising Out of SLP (C) No. 15688 of 2022 (@ Dy. No. 19524 of 2019)
Decided On : 07-09-2022
Mr. Varinder Kumar Sharma, Advocate, Mr. Shantanu Sharma, Advocate, for the Appellant.;
The court emphasized the importance of upholding awards made on consent terms and found the High Court's modification of the Lok Adalat's award to be unjustified.
Headnote:
Delay condoned - Challenge to modification of Award by High Court - Motor Accident Claims Tribunal - Lok Adalat - 9% interest on awarded and enhanced amount - [MOTOR ACCIDENT CLAIMS TRIBUNAL, LOK ADALAT] - [Summary: The court found the High Court's modification of the Lok Adalat's award unjustified, reinstated the original award, and ordered the Insurance Company to pay the awarded and enhanced amounts with 9% interest.]
Fact of the Case:
The appeal challenges the High Court's modification of an award by the Lok Adalat, reducing the compensation awarded by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal from Rs.5,14,000 to Rs.3,85,000.
Finding of the Court:
The High Court's modification of the Lok Adalat's award was found to be unjustified, and the original award was reinstated. The Insurance Company was ordered to pay the awarded amount of Rs. 5,14,000 and the enhanced amount of Rs. 3,85,000 along with 9% interest.
Issues: Challenge to High Court's modification of Lok Adalat's award, reduction of compensation, unjustified approach of the High Court.
Ratio Decidendi: The court found that the High Court's modification of the Lok Adalat's award was unjustified and reinstated the original award, ordering the Insurance Company to pay the awarded and enhanced amounts with 9% interest.
Final Decision: The appeal was allowed, and the order passed by the High Court was set aside. The Lok Adalat's award was restored, and the Insurance Company was directed to pay the awarded and enhanced amounts with 9% interest.
ORDER
1. Delay condoned.
2. Leave granted.
3. The challenge in the present appeal is to an order passed by the High Court of Madhya Pradesh Bench at Indore on 13.07.2017 whereby the Award rendered by the Lok Adalat was modified at the instance of Insurance Company that the amount settled was Rs.3,85,000/- instead of Rs.5,14,000/- awarded by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Indore.
4. We find that the order passed by the High Court in a review is unsustainable. Firstly, it is not understood how the claimants would agree for reduction of the amount of compensation awarded by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal from Rs.5,14,000/- to Rs.3,85,000/-. In fact, the agreement was awarding of Rs.3,85,000/-in addition to the awarded amount of Rs.5,14,000/-.
5. We find that the approach of the High Court in modifying the Award of the Lok Adalat which is an Award passed on the consent terms was unjustified. Consequently, the order dated 13.07.2017 passed by the High Court is set aside and that of the Lok Adalat dated 08.04.2017 is restored.
6. The Insurance Company will pay the amount awarded i.e. Rs. 5,14,000/- and the amount enhanced of Rs. 3,85,000/- alongwith interest @ 9% p.a. from the date of the Award of the Lok Adalat i.e. 08.04.2017.
7. With the above observations, the appeal is allowed.
