Court No. - 26
Case :- FIRST APPEAL FROM ORDER No. - 169 of 2001 Appellant :- United India Insurance Co. Ltd. Alld. Respondent :- Kali Shanker Misra And Another Counsel for Appellant :- S.K.Mehrotra Counsel for Respondent :- A.K.Singh
Hon'ble Dr. Kaushal Jayendra Thaker,J.
Heard Sri S.K. Mehrotra, learned counsel for the appellant and perused the judgment and order impugned. None appeared for the respondent even in the revised call.
This appeal, at the behest of the United India Insurance Company Limited, has been preferred against the judgment and order dated 27.11.2000 passed by II Additional District Judge/Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Kanpur Nagar (hereinafter referred to as 'Tribunal') in Claim Petition No. 357 of 1994 awarding a sum of Rs.55,000/- with interest at the rate of 18% in favour of the claimant.
I am in complete agreement with the submission of Sri S.K. Mehrotra that the interest could not have been granted at the rate of 18% except the submission that the amount of Rs.55,000/- could not have been granted as this ground has not been substantiated and the principle enunciated is that the Tribunal can grant what is known just compensation even without pleading, hence, finding of the Tribunal with respect to the said issue, cannot be disturbed.
The rate of interest could not have been 18% even in the year 2000 when the rate of interest used to be between 9 to 12%. Hence, as per the decision of this Court in FIRST APPEAL FROM ORDER No.-1011 of 2012 (Ramesh Kumar Soni Vs. Shriram General Insurance Co.Ltd. Thr.Manager & Another), the rate of interest is required to be slashed to 9% from 18%.
The appeal is partly allowed. This Court has held that the compensation of Rs.55,000/- was a just compensation. The judgment and decree passed by the Tribunal shall stand modified to the aforesaid extent.
As far as cross objection is concerned, learned counsel for the claimant has absented himself hence the same is dismissed.
However, the amount being meagre and as the cross objection is dismissed for default, the amount may not be recovered from the claimant who belongs to lower strata of life and it would not be proper to direct the injured to refund the amount after a period of 19 years.
Order Date :- 26.2.2019 DKS