JUDGMENT :

G. JAYACHANDRAN, J.

Prayer: Appeal filed under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 against the judgment and decree dated 22.01.2016 in M.C.O.P. No. 230 of 2014 on the file of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (Special District Judge) at Erode.

1. The appeal preferred by the insurance company centres on the point “whether the insurance company can deny their liability on the ground of policy condition violation when a driver possessing LMV license without batch endorsement, causes accident while driving a Bajaj LMV-3 wheeler Auto?”

2. The Tribunal while considering the claim petition framed a point for consideration on this issue and held that badge endorsement is not essential in the driving license to drive Bajaj 3 wheeler auto (the offending vehicle in this case) and it is not a policy violation to order pay and recover. Having held so, the Tribunal awarded compensation of Rs. 15,26,985/- to the claimants/dependants for the death of 39 years old man. The factors taken into consideration for fixing the above compensation were his age, (39 years), income (Rs. 6,