The main legal point established in the judgment is the application of well-settled principles of grant of compensation in motor accident cases, considering both pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

This is an appeal for enhancement of compensation filed by the claimant and is directed against the award dated 31-01-2011 passed by the learned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (2nd), North Tripura, Kailashahar in case No. T.S.(MAC) 10 of 2010 whereby he awarded a sum of Rs.11,300/- in favour of the claimant under the following heads:-

Medical expenses	Rs. 3,300/-
Cost of conveyance and Hotel expenses	Rs. 5,000/-
Pain and suffering	Rs. 3,000/-
Total	Rs.11,300/-

2. Sri P. Saha, learned counsel for the appellant urges that the amount of compensation is extremely low and not at all in consonance with the well settled principles of grant of compensation in motor accident cases.

3. It is well settled law that in a case of injuries compensation is awarded under two heads; pecuniary damages and non-pecuniary damages. Under the head of pecuniary damages, the expenses of treatment, attendants, special diet, transportation, hospitalization will be covered. Under the head of pecuniary losses, the claimant will also be entitled to the amount of income which he has actually lost due to his being unable to attend his work and in case, the injury has caused a permanent disability, then the future loss of income shall also have to be considered.

Under the head of non-pecuniary damages, normally damages will be awarded under the head of pain and suffering and in cases of permanent disability also for loss of amenities of life and future discomfort in life. In cases where the claimant is a young unmarried person and the injuries affect his marital prospects, damages for loss of marital prospects can also be awarded.

4. I am of the considered view that the learned Tribunal was totally unaware of the aforesaid principles while assessing the compensation and, therefore, I now proceed to assess the compensation applying the aforesaid principles under the various heads.

5. The evidence on record shows that the claimant immediately after the accident was taken to the RGM Hospital, Kailashahar and he was discharged on the same day itself. The diagnosis was that it was a head injury and the discharge certificate which is on record as Exhibit-5 shows that he was referred to the AGMC & GBP Hospital, Agartala for future treatment. The case of the claimant is that it was not convenient for him to come to Agartala and he proceeded to Silchar Medical College & Hospital, Silchar in Assam and he was admitted there on 13.01.2010 and he was discharged from the hospital on 15.01.2010. His treatment was conservative in nature. The claimant had suffered injuries in a road traffic accident and he had wound over the head. He had a serious head injury. Though in the discharge certificate issued by the RGM Hospital, Kailashahar reference is only made to a head injury, when the petitioner went to Silchar and was examined on 13.01.2010, an X-ray was conducted on his hand and injuries were found on his right hand also. The injuries are not serious in nature. The claimant was under treatment for only 3 days and, therefore, compensation is assessed as follows:-

6. Attendant charges:

The claimant was admitted in Kailashahar for one day and was in Silchar for 3 days. The cost of one attendant is taken at Rs.500/- per day and for 4 days, it works out to Rs.2,000/-.

7. Transportation expenses:

The claimant not only had to go for his treatment at Kailashahar but there is evidence to show that thereafter also he was treated by private doctors. I am of the considered view that keeping in view the nature of the injuries and the fact that as per the discharge certificate of Kailashahar Hospital, the petitioner was totally unconscious. He could not have been taken to Silchar in a bus as has been assessed by the learned Tribunal. He must have gone in an ambulance or a private vehicle and, therefore, I award Rs.5,000/- for trans