The Chhattisgarh High Court has held that the mere fact that three persons were travelling on a motorcycle does not automatically establish contributory negligence. The Court observed that, in the absence of evidence showing that tripling contributed to the occurrence of the accident, compensation cannot be reduced on that ground alone.

Justice Sanjay K. Agrawal was hearing an appeal filed by the claimants under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, seeking enhancement of compensation awarded by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal for the death of Shiv Kumar in a motor accident. The Tribunal had awarded compensation of Rs.6,77,600/- after deducting 50% towards contributory negligence on the ground that three persons were travelling on the motorcycle at the time of the accident. The claimants also challenged the assessment of the deceased's monthly income at Rs.6,000/- and the amount awarded under the head of consortium.

The Insurance Company supported the Tribunal's award and contended that the deduction towards contributory negligence was justified. The driver and owner of the offending vehicle also disputed their liability to pay compensation.

The Court held that the Tribunal's finding on contributory negligence was contrary to the law laid down by the Supreme Court in Mohammed Siddique & another v. National Insurance Company Limited & others [AIR 2020 SC 520]. It observed that the mere presence of three persons on a motorcycle could not, by itself, justify a finding of contributory negligence, and accordingly set aside the deduction of 50% made by the Tribunal.

The Court further found that the Tribunal had incorrectly assessed the deceased's monthly income at Rs.6,000/-. Referring to the Chhattisgarh Minimum Wages Notification issued by the Labour Commissioner, the Court held that the deceased, being a skilled labourer, ought to have been attributed a monthly income of Rs.7,930/-.

The Court assessed the total compensation at Rs.18,88,606/- as against Rs.6,77,600/- awarded by the Tribunal. After deducting the amount already awarded, it held that the claimants were entitled to an additional compensation of Rs.12,11,006/- together with interest at the rate of 7.5% per annum from the date of filing of the claim petition until realization.

Accordingly, the Court partly allowed the appeal, modified the award of the Claims Tribunal, and directed the concerned respondent to deposit the enhanced compensation within three months.

Case Title: Smt. Fhulmati & Ors. v. Nikhil Yadav & Ors. [MAC No. 1636 of 2019]

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