Supreme Court : Courts and tribunals to decide appropriate compensation for the injured in the accident
The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that courts and tribunals should make genuine efforts to restore the self-respect of accident victims by paying them appropriate compensation.
The apex court said this while increasing the compensation amount to be given to a bike rider injured in the accident. Noting that the injured bike rider had to stay in the hospital for 191 days, the apex court enhanced the compensation of Rs 9.38 lakh given by the Kerala High Court to Rs 27.67 lakh.
A bench of Justices R Subhash Reddy and Hrishikesh Roy observed that the Motor Vehicles Act is in the nature of a social welfare law and its provisions make it clear that compensation should be determined in an appropriate manner.
The bench said that tribunals and courts should be conscious of the fact that permanent disability of a person not only affects his abilities and his physical facilities but also affects many other things. The reality is that a healthy person becomes incapacitated and unable to lead a normal life. This lowers a person’s self-esteem.
The top court was hearing an appeal filed by Jitendran, a resident of Kerala, challenging the amount of compensation decided by the Kerala High Court. On April 13, 2001, a car hit the bike. In this accident, Jitendran sitting on the back of the bike became a victim of 69 percent disability.
