JUDGMENT

These appeals have been filed under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (the Act) by the third respondent/insurer in O.P. (MV) Nos.777, 632, 635 & 698 of 2013 on the file of the Additional Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal-III, Thiruvananthapuram, (the Tribunal), aggrieved by the amount of compensation granted by the common Award dated 12/11/2019. The respondents in these appeals are the respective claim petitioners and respondents 1 and 2 in the petitions. In these appeals, the parties and the documents will be referred to as described in the original petitions.

2. According to the claim petitioners, namely, the legal representatives of the deceased students, on 25/03/2013, while the deceased were travelling in bus bearing registration no.KL26A5006 to Munnar, and when they reached the place of occurrence, the bus capsized due to the rash and negligent driving of the second respondent/driver as a result of which they sustained grievous injuries to which they succumbed.

3. The first respondent/owner of the offending vehicle filed written statement contending that the vehicle was having a valid insurance policy and that the second respondent/driver was having a valid l