Digitally 2025:CGHC:60406 signed by SHAYNA NAFR KADRI HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MAC No. 1471 of 2017

1 - National Insurance Company Limited Through , Branch Manager, National Insurance Company Limited Branch Office Minu Complex Kosabadi Korba Tehsil And Distrcit Korba Chhattisgarh. , Chhattisgarh ... Appellant versus

1 - Smt. Shantibai W/o Late Chamra Singh Aged About 40 Years R/o Village Mudabhata Jenjra Tehsil - Katghora District Korba Chhattisgarh.

Claimants, Chhattisgarh

2 - Manisha Kumari D/o Late Chamra Singh Aged About 13 Years Minor Through Gaurdian Mother Smt. Shantibai , R/o Village Mudabhata Jenjra Tehsil - Katghora District Korba Chhattisgarh. , District : Korba, Chhattisgarh

3 - Atul Singh S/o Late Chamra Singh Aged About 9 Years Minor Through Gaurdian Mother Smt. Shantibai , R/o Village Mudabhata Jenjra Tehsil - Katghora District Korba Chhattisgarh. Claimants , District : Korba, Chhattisgarh

4 - Kamal Kenvat S/o Gopal Kenvat Aged About 33 Years R/o Chekpost Bhadrapara Balko Thana Balko, Present E/o Ward No. 10 , Pump House Colony Police Chowky C S E B Chowk Korba Tehsil And District Korba Chhattisgarh. Vihicle Driver , District : Korba, Chhattisgarh

5 - Har Narayan Agrawal S/o Late Shriniwas Agrawal R/o G. E. Road, Tatibandh Raipur Chhattisgarh Present R/o Plot No. 197, Near To Balaji Pretrol , T. P. Nagar Korba Police Chowky - C S E B Chowk Korba Thana And Tehsil And District Korba Chhattisgarh. Vehicle Owner, District : Korba, Chhattisgarh ... Respondent(s)

(Cause-title is taken from Case Information System) For Appellant : Mr. Sudhir Agrawal, Advocate For Resp. No. 1 to 3 : Mr. Praveen Dhurandhar, Advocate For Resp. No. 5 : Mr. Vikas Kumar Pandey, Advocate Hon’ble Mr. Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad

Order on Board

11/12/2025

1. This appeal has been filed under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988, against the award dated 04.07.2017 passed by the learned Upper Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Katghora, District -

Korba (C.G.), in Motor Accident Claim Case No. 83/2014.

2. Brief facts of the case, giving rise to the present appeal, are that on 21.12.2013 at about 3:50 PM, the deceased Chamra Singh was travelling as a pillion rider on a Bullet motorcycle which was being driven by Budhram. While they were proceeding on their journey, suddenly a Truck/Trailer bearing registration number CG- 04-JA-6379 came from the opposite direction and violently dashed into the said motorcycle, resulting in both the rider Budhram and the pillion rider Chamra Singh sustaining fatal injuries and dying on the spot. Thereafter, the legal heirs of deceased Chamra Singh filed a claim petition seeking compensation, which came to be allowed by the learned Claims Tribunal. During the course of the claim proceedings, the appellant–Insurance Company moved an application under Order 11 Rule 12 CPC seeking production of the permit and fitness certificate of the offending trailer, but the owner and driver failed to produce these documents before the Tribunal. The Tribunal then appointed a Commissioner to record the statement of the concerned RTO authority, and accordingly the Commissioner recorded the statement of Shri Animesh Kumar Tandan, an employee of RTO Raipur, who categorically stated that no fitness certificate had been issued for the offending trailer during the relevant period. The seizure memo prepared by the police also reflected non-submission of any fitness certificate. Based on this evidence, the Tribunal returned a clear finding that the offending trailer did not possess a valid fitness certificate at the time of the accident. Under the conventional heads, however, the Tribunal awarded an allegedly excessive amount of Rs. 2,25,000/-, and assessed dependency compensation at Rs. 3,36,000/-, thereby granting a total compensation of Rs. 5,61,000/-, which is under challenge.

3. Learned counsel for the appellant / insurance company submits that submits that the impugned award is unsustainable as the offending Trailer/Truck No.