JUDGMENT :

Heard Ms. M. Choudhury, learned counsel for the appellant.

The present appeal is already proceeded ex-parte as none represented the respondents.

2. This is an appeal under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988, against the judgment and award dated 03.08.2006, passed in MAC Case No. 1701/2003 by the learned Member MACT, Cachar, Silchar.

3. The brief facts, leading to filing of the present appeal, is that an application for compensation was filed by the claimant-Shri Rofique Uddin for injuries sustained by him in a road accident on 09.09.2003. As per the claimant, on the day of the accident, he was travelling in the offending 709 bus, bearing Registration No. AS-11A-1989, but when the bus reached at Rongpur, Silchar, the bus met with an accident due to rush and negligent driving of the driver of the vehicle and for the said accident, the claimant sustained injury and for which he claimed Rs. 1,80,000/-(Rupees one lakh eighty thousand) only towards compensation.

4. The owner of the vehicle-Mrs. Laila Begum Laskar/O.P No. 1 and the driver of the offending vehicle-Shri Swapan Kumar Deb/O.P No. 2 did not contest the case and the case proceeded ex-parte. However, the O.P No. 3-the New India Assurance Company Limited contested the case by filing their written statement. It is stated in the written statement that the insured violated the mandatory provision of the policy of the insurance and the driver was not having valid driving license at the time of accident. More so, the claimed amount is excessive and without any basis.

5. The claimant/respondent No. 1 examined himself as PW-1 in support of his own case and he was duly cross-examined by the O.P No. 3/ the New India Assurance Company Limited. After hearing the arguments from both the sides, the learned Member MACT Cachar, Silchar, passed the judgment & award on 03.08.2006 awarding Rs. 85,000/-(Rupees Eighty-five thousand only) to the claimant/respondent No. 1 as compensation.

6. On being highly aggrieved and dissatisfied with the judgment & award dated 03.08.2006, passed by the learned Member MACT, Cachar, Silchar, the present appeal has been preferred by the appellant/the New India Assurance Company Ltd. on the following grounds, amongst others:

(i) That the learned Member MACT erred both in law as well as in facts while passing the impugned award. The learned Member MACT ignored the affidavit filed by the owner stating that none of the passengers were injured in the alleged accident that took place on 09.09.2003.

(ii) That the learned Member, MACT, most illegally and arbitrarily, without any basis, awarded a sum of Rs. 85,000/-(Rupees eighty-five thousand only) on the basis of the injury report, i.e. Exhibit-7, and only medical prescription, i.e. Exhibit-8. Further, from both exhibits, it reveals that the injury was a minor one and the claimant/respondent No. 1 also did not submit any other documents to prove that due to the accident, he has lost his income and also lost his enjoyment of normal life.

(iii) That the learned Member, MACT, also failed to appreciate the fact that the claimant/respondent No. 1 himself admitted that he failed to produce medical documents from Silchar Medical College & Hospital, where he took the treatment, after the accident.

(iv) That the learned Member, MACT, most illegally and arbitrarily awarded a sum of Rs. 25,000/-(Rupees twenty five thousand) only under the head of pain and sufferings where statute provides Rs. 5,000/-(Rupees five thousand) only under the said head and as such, the impugned award is liable to be set aside and quashed. More so, the learned Member, MACT, illegally awarded a sum of Rs. 10,000/-(Rupees ten thousand) only without any basis towards the head of loss of enjoyment of life due to said accident.

(v) That more than 50 numbers of claim cases were filed by the different claimants which are pending before the Tribunal, though the owner of the bus by filing his affidavit has stated that there were only 13 passengers and as