Court No. - 26
Case :- FIRST APPEAL FROM ORDER DEFECTIVE No.238 of 2005 Appellant :- Raj Pal Tyagi Respondent :- Pradeep Kumar And Another Counsel for Appellant :- Santosh Kumar Srivastava,Mrs. Alka Srivastava
Hon'ble Dr. Kaushal Jayendra Thaker,J.
Except filing illness slip from 2005 - 09 and thereafter also nothing has been done by the counsel for the appellant to see that the matter is listed or taken up. The learned Advocate has not even requested this Court to take up the matter by filing any application for taking up this matter preferred by the original claimant, who was injured in the accident.
There is delay of 1 year and 125 days in preferring the appeal.
I have requested Sri S.K. Mehrotra, who is on the panel of Oriental Insurance Company to appear and assist this Court as 14 years have elapsed on the filing of this defective appeal. The Tribunal awarded a sum of Rs.2,62,721/- with 9% rate of interest.
It is submitted by the learned Advocate that the rate of interest granted by the Tribunal should have been 18% and not 9%. The interest rate in the year of accident was 9% and no fault can be found with the same and the demand of 18% interest in turned down.
The submission that the interest should have been granted from the date of filing of the claim petition and not from the date of judgment is accepted. However, the rate of interest, which is 9%, cannot be said to be bad. Normally, the rate of interest is 9%, which is not disturbed. However, the said amount shall carry interest from the date of claim petition till 2003 that is the date of the judgment.
The compensation, which has been granted, will be added by a sum of Rs.20,000/- under the head of pain shock suffering. The multiplier granted cannot be said to be bad and the over all compensation does not require any reconsideration in view of the judgment of the Apex Court in Raj Kumar Vs. Ajay Kumar and
another, reported in (2011) 1 SCC 343.
It is submitted by Sri Mehrotra that the accident is of the year 1996 and has requested that on the enhanced amount, interest from 1996 9% rate of interest may not be granted. I am in agreement with the said submission.
However, no fault can be found with. The finding of the Tribunal on grant of 9% rate of interest as this Court has held it proper to grant interest @ 9 per cent in a very old matters also. However, as the appeal is being disposed of at the stage of condonation of delay and, therefore, the Insurance company cannot be saddled with exemplary interest from 2003. However, the interest on the additional amount and the amount, which has been already deposited, be recalculated and deposited as expeditiously as possible. The amount of Rs.20,000/- will carry only 4% rate of interest from 1996 till it is deposited.
In that view of the matter, this appeal is partly allowed. The judgment and decree is modified to the aforesaid extent.
A copy of this judgment be given to both the counsel for execution purpose.
Order Date :- 25.2.2019 Irshad