JUDGMENT :

N.V. RAMANA, CJI.

1. Leave granted.

2. The appellants before us seek to impugn the judgment dated 4th September, 2017, passed by the Delhi High Court in MAC. App. No. 740/2016.

3. The brief facts, necessary for the adjudication of this appeal are as follows: on the intervening night of the 18th/19th May, 2010, the vehicle in which parents of the Appellants were travelling rammed into a truck, near Phagwara, Punjab. Resultantly, they succumbed to the injuries sustained in the accident. The car was plying other relatives of the Appellants and the deceased. Thereafter, F.I.R. no. 76/10, was registered in PS Sadar Phagwara, Punjab under Sections 249, 304A, 427 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 in this regard. It may be relevant to note that the vehicle was, during the relevant period, insured by the National Insurance Co. Ltd. (hereinafter, referred to as NIC), the Respondent No. 1 herein.

4. The Appellants instituted a claim petition before the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal (hereinafter, “the MACT”), under Sections 166 and 140 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, for grant of compensation for the death of their parents, which were registered as cases numbered, MACT No. 349/2010 (with