IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 1870 of 2015 FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNATURE:

HONOURABLE MS. JUSTICE NISHA M. THAKORE ==========================================================

Approved for Reporting Yes No ==========================================================

JASHMATBHAI HARDASBHAI VORA & ANR.

Versus M J TRAMBADIYA & ORS.

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Appearance:

MS MAMTA R VYAS(994) for the Appellant(s) No. 1,2 MR PALAK H THAKKAR(3455) for the Defendant(s) No. 2 MR SUNIL B PARIKH(582) for the Defendant(s) No. 4 RULE SERVED for the Defendant(s) No. 1,3 ==========================================================

CORAM:HONOURABLE MS. JUSTICE NISHA M. THAKORE Date : 09/03/2026

JUDGMENT

Heard Ms. Mamta R. Vyas, learned advocate on record for the appellants – original claimants and Mr. Palak H. Thakkar, learned advocate on record for the respondent no.2- United India Insurance Company Ltd., and learned advocate Mr. Sunil B. Parikh for respondent no. 4-National Insurance Company Ltd.

2. The rule of admission issued by this court in the captioned appeal, is reported to have been duly served upon the respondent nos.1 and 3; however, no appearance has been entered on their behalf.

3. Considering the limited issue involved, with the consent of learned advocates appearing for the respective parties, the matter is finally heard.

4. The present appeal is filed at the instance of original claimants under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (hereinafter to be referred as “the Act of 1988”), being aggrieved and dissatisfied with the judgment and award dated 12.08.2013 (hereinafter to be referred as “the impugned judgment and award”) passed by the learned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (Main), Rajkot in Motor Accident Claim Petition No.782 of 2003.

4.1 By the said impugned judgment and award, the Tribunal has partly allowed the claim petition preferred by the present appellants by awarding compensation of Rs.1,54,500/- with interest at the rate of 8% per annum from the date of filing of claim petition, till its actual realization, to be realized from opponent nos.1 to 3, jointly and severally.

5. Learned advocate for the appellants, at the outset, has placed reliance upon the decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of K.R. Jagdish and another vs. National Insurance Company Limited and Another reported in 2025 ACJ 1881. It is submitted that Section 163A(1) read with the Second Schedule of the Act of 1988, has been amended vide Notification dated 22.05.2018 and as per 2018 amendment, the amount of compensation has been enhanced from Rs. 1 Lakh to Rs. 5 Lakhs.

5.1 It is further submitted that before the Supreme Court, the appeal was preferred by the original claimants, being aggrieved by the order of the High Court, upholding the rejection of the claim petition preferred under Section 163A of the Act of 1988. The Tribunal had rejected the claim petition holding that the insurer of the motorcycle was not liable, since the involvement of the motorcycle in the accident had not been established. The High Court, by impugned judgment, had upheld the said order. The appellants have placed reliance upon the documentary evidences including the FIR, to indicate the genuineness of the accident and its connection with the death of the deceased.

5.2 It is further submitted that even under the no fault liability scheme, more particularly, under Section 163 of the Act of 1988, a statutory amount was required to be paid to the claimants. The Supreme Court, having appreciated the record as well as the amended provision of Section 163A of the Act of 1988, held that, the appellants were entitled to statutory compensation under the Act. On the issue of the quantum of compensation, refuting the submissions of the respondent-Insurance Company that the amount be confined to Rs. 1 lakh, it is held that, in view of the 2018 amendment, whereby the amount has been enhanced to Rs. 5 lakhs, considering the settle