A person carried in a goods vehicle by reason of a contract of employment with the owner of the goods carried on the vehicle is entitled to the protection of compulsory insurance under Section 95(1)(b), Proviso (ii) of the Motor Vehicles Act.

G. B. PATNAIK, J.

( 1 ) THE Insurance Company is the appellant challenging the award of the Second Motor Accident Claims Tribunal.

( 2 ) ON 30-4-1973 at 12. 30 a. m. , a truek bearing registration number O. R. B. 1427 met with an accident at a place called Jhargadja on the Sambalpur-Cuttack road due to rash and negligent driving of the said truck. The truck was engaged in carrying goods of the Munsif, Bbadrak, who had been transferred to Angul. The deceased was the Night-Watchman of Bhadrak Civil Court and was going in the truck to keep watch over the goods. On account of the said accident, death having occurred, the claimants who are the wife and children of the deceased filed an application under Section 110-A of the Motor Vehicles Act claiming compensation to the tune of Rs. 50,000/ -.

( 3 ) THE Insurance Company filed objection before the Tribunal denying the rash ness and negligence of the driver of the truck and further it was stated that the deceased was a passenger on the truck and was being carried therein by the driver at his own risk and was not a third-party and therefore, his heirs, the claimants, were not entitled to receive any compensation from the Insurance Company.

( 4 ) ON the pleadings of the parties, the learned Tribunal on consideration of the evidence on record held that the truck in question was being driven rashly and negligently in consequence of which the accident occurred. On the evidence of P. W. 2. the clerk of the Munsifs Court, Bhadrak, be found that the deceased was earning Rupees 141/- per month and on the basis of his date of birth as 18-9-1947, found that he would have continued in service till his sixtieth year. Thereafter on calculation, the Tribunal found that the deceased would have earned Rs. 1,17,258/- before retirement had he not died in the accident. Half of the said amount having been deducted for personal maintenance expenses In accordance with the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Smt. Manjushri Raha v. B. L. Gupta, AIR 1977 SC 1158, the Tribunal found the gross contribution towards maintenance of the claimants to be Rupees 58,629/- and thereafter deducting one-eighth of the said contribution on account of benefits received by the claimants on the death of the deceased and further one-sixth on account of uncertainties of life since compensation was being given on lump sum basis, fixed the net compensation payable at Rs. 41,529/ -. On the evidence of the concerned officer whose goods were being earned, the Tribunal found that the deceased was accompanying the goods on behalf of the owner of the goods and, therefore, the Insurance Company must be held responsible to make the necessary payments. On these findings, the Tribunal awarded Rs. 41,529/- with interest at six per cent per annum and further directed that if the amount be not paid within three months, then the rate of interest would be ten per cent.

( 5 ) MR. Basu appearing for the Insurance Company challenged the direction of the Tribunal regarding higher rate of interest if amount was not paid within three months on the ground that since an appeal was provided for and could be filed within three months, the Tribunal was not competent to enhance the rate of interest if the amount was not paid within three months. He argued only on first principle and was not in a position to cite any authority in support of the proposition. In my view, the Tribunal was well within his jurisdiction to direct that if the amount be not paid within three months, then the amount should carry a higher rate of interest, i. e. at 10 per cent. The provisions under the Motor Vehicles Act awarding compensation in favour of the legal representatives of a deceased or injured are ameliorative measures and the object of such legislation is to save the destitutes from vagaries of life, they having lost their sources of income must get something to fall back upon, Award of higher rate of interest if the compensation is not paid within three mo