IMPORTANT POINT
Legal representatives can claim compensation for loss to estate under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, even if not dependents.

JUDGMENT :

1. The appellants were the petitioners in OP (MV) No. 2977 of 2001 on the files of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Ernakulam. The said claim petition was filed by them seeking compensation for the death of one Saji Jose due to the injuries sustained in a motor accident, that occurred on 4.08.2001.

2. According to the appellants, the accident occurred when the deceased was driving a Maruti car along with his wife and parents, it collided with a mini lorry driven by the 3rd respondent. The 1st respondent was the owner of the said vehicle and it was insured with the 2nd respondent. Due to the accident, all the persons travelling in the car died.

3. The deceased Saji Jose, was aged 29 years at the time of the accident, and was working as an Executive in L&T Finance Ltd with a monthly income of Rs.11,360/-. The appellants/petitioners 1 to 3 are the siblings, the appellants/petitioners 3 and 4 are the father-in-law and mother-in-law of the deceased. The claim petition was filed in such circumstances.

4. The respondents 1 and 2 have filed written statements, disputing the negligence on the part of the 3rd respondent. In the written statement filed by the 2nd respondent, the insurer of the mini lorry, they admitted the coverage of the policy. However, they disputed the quantum of the compensation claimed.

5. The said claim petition was tried along with three other claim petitions which arose from the very same accident. The evidence in these cases consists of Exts. A1 to A20A from the side of the claimants. No evidence was adduced by the respondents. After the trial, the tribunal came to the conclusion that the accident occurred due to the negligence of the 3rd respondent and the deceased. The proportion of their liabilities was fixed as 2:1 between them respectively. Being the insurer of the vehicle, the 2nd respondent was held liable to pay the compensation in respect of the liability of the 3rd respondent. The quantum of compensation in the above claim petition was fixed as Rs.1,07,500/-. The Tribunal also found that the 3rd and 4th appellants, the in-laws of the deceased were not entitled to compensation and the amount awarded was for appellants 1 to 3 alone. Accordingly, the appellants 1 to 3 were permitted to recover an amount of Rs.71,667/- from the 2nd respondent with interest at the rate of 7% from the date of petition till the date of the award and with interest at the rate of 8% from the date of the award till realization. This appeal is filed by the appellants challenging the finding of contributory negligence and also seeking enhancement of compensation.

6. The first question to be considered is with respect to contributory negligence. It is to be noted that, the police registered Ext. A1 FIR in connection with the accident, and after completing the investigation, submitted a charge sheet implicating the 3rd respondent, the driver of the mini lorry as the accused. The 2nd respondent did not adduce any contra evidence. In the light of the observations made by this Court in New India Assurance Company Limited v. Pazhaniammal, 2011 (3) KLT 648, in the absence of any contra evidence, the conclusions arrived at by the Police in the final report submitted after the investigation in the crime registered in connection with the accident, can be taken as a prima facie proof of the negligence. It is to be noted that, the Tribunal found negligence on the part of the deceased by simply relying upon the spot of the accident revealed from the scene mahazer. In Jiju Kuruvila and others v. Kunjunjamma Mohan & others, 2013 (3) KLT 261 (SC) : (2013) 9 SCC 166, it was held by the Honourable Supreme Court that, the question of negligence cannot be decided merely by relying upon the scene mahazer. It is to be noted that, the scene mahazer is prepared after the accident, based on the information furnished by the person who may or may not have witnessed the incident. Moreover, the other relevant and contributory factors for the accident