JUDGMENT

(Common Prayer: Civil Miscellaneous Appeals filed under Section 173 of Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, to allow the appeals and modify the award passed in M.C.O.P.Nos.242 & 640 of 2009 dated 27.06.2017 on the file of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal/Sessions Judge Communal Clash Cases Court, Madurai and fix the liability on the respondents as the respondents are jointly and severally liable to pay the compensation amount payable to the appellants.)

Common Judgment:

1. These two appeals have been preferred by the claimants challenging the common award of the Tribunal in M.C.O.P.Nos.242 of 2009 and 640 of 2009 on the file of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Madurai wherein the Tribunal had dismissed the claim petitions as against the Insurance Company.

2. The claimants in both the claim petitions are the legal heirs of one Ramasamy and one Ramakrishnan who had travelled on the back side of a goods vehicle for the purpose of loading and un-loading purposes. According to the claimants, the deceased persons were Carpenters by profession and they had travelled on the back side of the vehicle along with finished wooden items and kadappa stones as per the direction of the owner of the