JUDGMENT :-

(Prayer: This Civil Miscellaneous Appeal is filed under Section 173(1) of Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, to set aside the portion of judgment which exonerating the second respondent, Insurance Company from its liability and fix the joint and several liability of the second respondent along with the first respondent in MCOP No.286 of 2010 by the judgment dated 18.01.2013 by the learned Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal/I-Additional District Judge (PCR), Thanjavur.

C.M.A.(MD)No.346 of 2014: This Civil Miscellaneous Appeal is filed under Section 173(1) of Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, to set aside the portion of judgment which exonerating the second respondent, Insurance Company from its liability and fix the joint and several liability of the second respondent along with the first respondent in MCOP No.290 of 2010 by the judgment dated 18.01.2013 by the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal/I-Additional District Judge (PCR), Thanjavur.)

Common Judgment

1. C.M.A.(MD)No.345 of 2014 is filed against the order, dated 18.01.2013, passed in M.C.O.P.No.286 of 2010, on the file of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal – I Additional District Court (PCR), Thanjavur.

2. C.M.A.(MD)No.346 of 2014 is filed against the order, dated 18.01.2013, passed in M.C.O.P.No.290 of 2010, on the file of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal – I Additional District Court (PCR), Thanjavur.

3. The appellants in both the appeals herein are the claimants. The respondents herein are the respondents in the original claim petitions. Since both the M.C.O.P.Nos.286 of 2010 and 290 of 2010 were filed before the I Additional District Court (PCR), Thanjavur, claiming compensation arising out of the same accident, a common judgment was pronounced by the Tribunal.

4. Brief substance of the petitions, in M.C.O.P.Nos. 286 of 2010 and 290 of 2010, is as follows:

On 26.04.2010, at about 2.20 p.m., when the petitioners and others travelled in a Tata Ace van bearing Registration No.TN-49-AE-5367 along the Thanjavur - Pudukkottai road, the van was driven by the driver in a rash and negligent manner and dashed against the middle divider in the road and the vehicle was capsized. The petitioners sustained injuries and they took treatment at Thanjavur Medical College Hospital. The petitioner - Mahalakshmi took treatment as inpatient from 26.04.2010 to 06.05.2010 and she claimed a sum of Rs.2,00,000/- (Rupees Two Lakhs only) as compensation. The petitioner - Kolanchi took treatment as inpatient from 26.04.2010 to 06.05.2010 and she claimed a sum of Rs.2,00,000/- (Rupees Two Lakhs only) as compensation.

5. Brief substance of the counter filed by the second respondent in both the petitions, in M.C.O.P.Nos.286 of 2010 and 290 of 2010, is as follows:

The date, time, place and the manner of accident, injuries sustained by the petitioners, period of treatment and medical expenses are all denied. The petitioners are gratuitous passengers travelled in a goods carrier. The liability has to be fastened only on the first respondent. Due to overloading of 25 passengers in a goods carrier, the driver lost the control of the vehicle and the vehicle wobbled and was hit by the nearby culvert. The injuries are simple in nature. The petitioners were unemployed and they earned nothing. Hence, the petitions are to be dismissed.

6. A joint trial was conducted in both the petitions. The first respondent was set exparte. On the side of the petitioners / claimants, five witnesses were examined and sixteen documents were marked. On the side of the second respondent, no witnesses were examined and no documents were marked. One document was marked as court document. After considering both sides, the Tribunal awarded a sum of Rs.1,55,000/- (Rupees One Lakh and Fifty Five Thousand only) for the claimant/Mahalakshmi in M.C.O.P.No.286 of 2010 and awarded a sum of Rs.1,33,750/- (Rupees One Lakh Thirty Three Thousand Seven Hundred and Fifty only) for the claimant/Kolanchi in M.C.O.P.No.290 of 2010. Against the award, the appellant