HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD FIRST APPEAL FROM ORDER No. - 1305 of 2007 Along with : 1. First Appeal From Order No. 1575 of 2005: United India Insurance Company Ltd. Thru Divisional Manager Versus Dinesh Kumar Gupta and others Court No. - 54 HON'BLE ANIL KUMAR-X, J. 1. Heard Sri Sharve Singh, learned Senior Advocate, assisted by Smt. Neerja Singh, learned counsel for the appellant, and Sri Rahul Mishra, learned counsel for the respondent. 2. These two First Appeals From Order have been filed against the judgment dated 15.3.2005 passed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal/Additional District Judge, Court No. 4, District Deoria, in M.A.C. No. 75 of 2002. 3. Learned counsel for the appellant submitted that Km. Nandini, aged about two years, was knocked down by Jeep No. UP-57/1127 on 9.10.2000 at about 9:00 A.M. on National Highway No. 28, near Village Farmauli, Police Station Hata, District Deoria. He further submitted that the learned Tribunal, considering the notional income of the deceased at Rs.15,000/- per annum, has awarded a meagre amount of compensation of Rs.2,25,000/-. 4. Relying upon the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Kusmi Devi Vs. Md. Kasim and another, 2023 (3) T.A.C. 17 (S.C.), it was submitted that in the said case, where a minor child aged about three years succumbed to her injuries, the Hon'ble Supreme Court enhanced the compensation to Versus Counsel for Appellant(s) : Sharve Singh, Neerja Singh, Rahul Mishra, Saral Srivastava Counsel for Respondent(s) : Arun Kumar, Neerja Singh, Rahul Mishra, Sharve Singh Dinesh Kumar Gupta and another .....Appellant(s) United India Insurance Co. Ltd. and another .....Respondent(s) Rs.6,00,000/-. Similarly, the Coordinate Bench of this Court, in Brahma Dev Singh Vs. New India Assurance Company Limited and others, 2020 ACJ 1096, awarded compensation of Rs.6,60,000/- in the case of death of a minor girl aged about six years. Therefore, it was submitted that the compensation awarded by the learned Tribunal deserves to be modified and enhanced. 5. Per contra, learned counsel for the respondent-Insurance Company submitted that the award has been passed in accordance with the guidelines contained in the Second Schedule to Section 163-A of the Motor Vehicles Act. Hence, no interference is warranted with the award passed by the learned Tribunal. 6. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record. 7. It is apparent from the record that the appellants/claimants themselves, in their claim petition, had assessed the income of the deceased minor by taking her notional income at Rs.15,000/- per annum. Therefore, the contention raised by learned counsel for the appellant, which is contrary to the pleadings contained in the claim petition, is not sustainable. 8. Accordingly, the judgment and award passed by the learned Tribunal is upheld. Consequently, First Appeal From Order No. 1305 of 2007 is dismissed. 9. In the connected First Appeal From Order No.1575 of 2005, learned counsel for the appellant submitted that the driving licence of the driver of the offending vehicle, i.e., Jeep No. UP-57/1127, was not produced before the learned Tribunal. Hence, the finding of the learned Tribunal fastening the entire liability upon the Insurance Company, without granting it the right to recover the amount of compensation from the owner of the offending vehicle, is unsustainable. 10. In support of his contention, learned counsel has relied upon the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Pappu and Others Vs. Vinod Kumar Lamba and another, (2018) 3 Supreme Court Cases 208. Learned counsel further submitted that the right of recovery has not been granted to the Insurance Company despite the fact that the driver had no valid driving licence at the time of the accident. 11. Having considered the submissions advanced by learned counsel for the parties and upon perusal of the record, this Court finds that the Insurance Company is entitled to recover the amount of compensation from the owner of the offending vehicle. FAFO No. 1305 of 2007 2 12. Accordingly, the judgment and award passed by the learned Tribunal is modified to the extent that the Insurance Company shall first satisfy the award of compensation in favour of the claimants and shall thereafter be entitled to recover the said amount from the owner of the offending vehicle. 13. The First Appeal From Order No. 1575 of 2005 is, accordingly, partly allowed. September 9, 2026 Mukesh FAFO No. 1305 of 2007 3 (Anil Kumar-X,J.) Digitally signed by :- MUKESH SRIVASTAVA High Court of Judicature at Allahabad