$~54 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI % Date of decision: 28^th November, 2024 + MAC.APP. 606/2024 & CM APPL. 69528/2024 M/S NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY LTD Mamta Place, Etawah, Uttar Pradesh-206001 .....Appellant Through: Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, Advocate.

versus

1. NEERU DEVI (WIFE)

S/o Shri Dharam Singh .....Respondent No. 1

2. SUNNY KUMAR (SON)

D/o Shri Jagdish .....Respondent No. 2

3. SONAM KUMARI (DAUGHTER)

D/o Shri Jagdish .....Respondent No. 3

4. ANUU KUMARI (DAUGHTER)

S/o Shri Jagdish .....Respondent No. 4 All R/o B-239, Indira Kalyan Vihar, Okhla Phase-1, PS Okhla, District South Delhi, Delhi-110020

5. PRADEEP S/o Harish Chander, R/o H. No. 98, Saifai, Etawah, Uttar Pradesh-206130 .....Respondent No. 5 Through: None.

Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed MAC.APP. 606/2024 Page 1 of 6 CORAM:

HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE NEENA BANSAL KRISHNA J U D G M E N T (oral)

CM APPL. 69400/2024 (Exemption)

1. Allowed, subject to all just exceptions.

2. The Application is disposed of.

CM APPL. 69401/2024 (u/S 151 of CPC, 1908)

3. By way of present Application, the Appellant seeks condonation of 10 days’ delay in filing the Appeal.

4. For the reasons and grounds stated in the present Application, the Application is allowed. The delay of 10 days in filing the Appeal is hereby condoned.

5. The Application is disposed of.

MAC.APP. 606/2024

6. The present Appeal under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 has been filed on behalf of the Appellant/Insurance Company against the Award dated 17.08.2024 vide which a compensation in the sum of Rs. 1,05,75,000/- along with interest @ 9% per annum has been granted to the Claimants-legal heirs of the deceased, Shri Arvind Kumar Singh, who died in the road accident on 29.08.2017.

7. The Appellant/Insurance Company has challenged the impugned Award on two grounds, namely:

(i) that the eye-witnesses examined on behalf of the Claimants/Respondents were not able to prove the factum of accident; and (ii) that there is no proof of the income of the deceased Shri Arvind Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed MAC.APP. 606/2024 Page 2 of 6 Kumar Singh, despite which his salary has been taken by the Tribunal as Rs. 95,000/- per month.

8. Submissions heard and Record perused.

9. Briefly stated, on 29.08.2017 at around 11 p.m., the deceased, Shri Arvind Kumar Singh, aged about 54 years, was travelling from Bhind to Delhi in Eicher vehicle bearing No. DL IX 7401 when it was hit by the offending truck bearing No. UP 75M 8577 coming from the wrong/opposite lane which was being driven by Respondent No.1-Shri Pradeep Kumar (driver-cum-owner). He sustained fatal injuries.

10. FIR No. 245/2017 under Section 279, 304A, 427 IPC at PS Badhpura, Etawah, UP, was registered, on 30.08.2017.

11. The primary ground of challenge is that the Claimants’ eye witnesses failed to substantiate the occurrence of the accident.

12. The Claimants examined two eye witnesses, namely PW-4, Kapil Goyal and PW-5, Devesh Pradhan.

13. PW-4, Kapil Goyal deposed that the Eicher vehicle no. 7401 travelling from Bhind to Delhi was hit by a Truck no. 8577, which was being driven at high speed approaching from the wrong side, causing the fatal accident of the driver of the Eicher vehicle. Although he was unable to recall the entire number, he stated that the offending truck was red in colour with silver cabin. Furthermore, he was also cited as a witness in Charge Sheet, Ex.PW-l/2, and that his statement was recorded by the police on the scene of the accident.

14. The second eye-witness, PW-5, Devesh Pradhan deposed on the same lines as PW-4. He deposed that he witnessed the accident while returning from village Ekdil near Itawa to Bhind. He stated that the deceased was Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed MAC.APP. 606/2024 Page 3 of 6 driving one Eicher Truck and the other vehicle was a big Tata Truck of Red Colour bearing No. “UP 75 ...” but he could not give the complete Number of the offending vehicle. He further deposed that the vehicle of the deceased was on the l