Amounts received under insurance policies cannot be deducted from compensation awarded under the Motor Vehicles Act as they pertain to separate contractual rights without correlation, affirming the principle of just compensation.

JUDGMENT :

ALKA SARIN, J.

1. The present appeal has been preferred by the claimant-appellants aggrieved by the quantum of compensation awarded vide the impugned award dated 28.04.2022 passed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Rupnagar, (hereinafter referred to as ‘Tribunal’).

2. Since the facts, as recorded in the impugned award passed by the Tribunal, are not in dispute, the same are not being reproduced herein for the sake of brevity.

3. The Tribunal in the present case had awarded the following compensation :

4. Learned counsel for the claimant-appellants would contend that he does not challenge the income of the deceased, deduction, future prospects and the multiplier as applied by the Tribunal, however, he contends that the Tribunal has wrongly deducted an amount of Rs.30,00,000/- received by the claimant-appellants on account of the accident death policy from HDFC Bank which ought not to have been deducted. In this regard, he has relied upon the judgments of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the cases of Helen C. Rebello vs. Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation [1998 (4) RCR (Civil) 177] and Vimal Kanwar & Ors. vs. Kishore Dan & Ors. [2013 (2) RCR (Civil) 945]. It is further the contention of the learned counsel that the amounts awarded under the conventional heads as well as under the head ‘loss of consortium’ are not in accordance with the law laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court. In support of his contentions, he has relied upon the judgments of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the cases of National Insurance Company Ltd. vs. Pranay Sethi & Ors. [ (2017) 16 SCC 680 ], Magma General Insurance Company Limited vs. Nanu Ram alias Chuhru Ram & Ors. [ (2018) 18 SCC 130 ] and N. Jayasree & Ors. vs. Cholamandalam M.S General Insurance Company Ltd. [2021(4) RCR (Civil) 642].

5. Learned counsel for respondent No.3-Insurance Company has contended that the Tribunal has rightly deducted the amount received by the claimant-appellants on account of the accidental death policy from HDFC Bank and that there is no scope for interference in the impugned award.

6. I have heard the learned counsel for the parties.

7. Admittedly, there is no appeal on behalf of the Insurance Company. Since no challenge has been laid by the learned counsel for the claimant-appellants to the income of the deceased, future prospects, deduction and multiplier as applied by the Tribunal, the same are accordingly maintained.

8. Vide the impugned award the Tribunal has deducted an amount of Rs.30,00,000/- which was received by the claimant-appellants on account of the accidental death policy from HDFC Bank as the deceased was working as a Guard in the Home Guard Department. Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Helen C. Rebello (supra) has held as under :

“30. This is based on the principle that the claimant for the happening of the same incidence may not gain twice from two sources. This, it is excluded thus, either through the wisdom of legislature or through the principle of loss and gain through deduction not to give gain to the claimant twice arising from the same transaction, viz., same accident. It is significant