-1- 2025:CGHC:352 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MAC No. 1193 of 2020 1 - Rameshwar Patel S/o Rishikesh Patel, Aged About 39 Years By Caste Aghariya R/o Village Charbhatah, Police Staiton And Tahsil Gharghoda, District Raigarh Chhattisgarh................Claimant, District : Raigarh, Chhattisgarh ... Appellant/Claimant versus 1 - Prabhat Nande S/o Parmeshwar Nande, R/o Nawapara Tenda, Police Station Gharghoda, District Raigarh Chhattisgarh, District : Raigarh, Chhattisgarh 2 - Kodananda S/o Gokul Sa, Occupation Owner Vehicle, R/o Luwabahar, Post Bulaimunda, Police Station And Tahsil Himgir, District Sundergarh Orissa 3 - Branch Manager, The Oriental Insurance Company Limited, Rahul Complex, Dhimrapur Road, District Raigarh Chhattisgarh ... Respondents For Appellant/Claimant : Mr. Prabhat Kumar Saxena, Advocate For Respondent No.3/Insurance : Ms. Swati Agrawal, Advocate holding the Company brief of Mr. Pankaj Agrawal, Advocate Hon'ble Shri Justice Rakesh Mohan Pandey Order on Board 03.01.2025 1) Heard. 2) The claimant/injured has filed this appeal under Section 173 of the Motor Digitally signed by REKHA SINGH -2- Vehicles Act, 1988 for enhancement of compensation against the award dated 14.08.2019 passed by the learned Additional Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Gharghoda, District Raigarh (C.G.) in Claim Case No.32/2018. 3) The facts of the present case are that on 16.07.2016, when the appellant was going to Kharasia on his motorcycle, respondent No. 2/driver of the offending vehicle bearing registration No.O.R.02-C.A.0036 dashed him by driving the vehicle rashly and negligently and consequently, the appellant sustained grievous injuries over his right leg, thumb of right hand and fingers. The appellant remained hospitalized for a considerable period and he could not work from 16.07.2016 till 25.08.2017. The appellant was a milkman and as per pleadings made in the application, he was earning Rs.1,000/- per day. 4) Learned Insurance Company filed the reply and denied the allegations. It was pleaded that the Insurance Company was not informed regarding the accident; there was a breach of the Insurance Policy and the driver & owner of the vehicle failed to produce R.C. Book, driving license, fitness certificate, permit etc. 5) Learned Tribunal held that the Claimant/Appellant sustained serious injuries on account of the accident; his disability was temporary for a period of five years; on the date of the accident, the driver of the offending vehicle had a valid driving licence and thus the claimant was found entitled to get compensation to the tune of Rs.2,90,167/-. -3- 6) Mr. Saxena, the learned counsel appearing for the appellant/claimant would submit that the learned Tribunal has assessed the monthly income of the claimant/appellant to the tune of Rs.5000/- in the year 2016 whereas the appellant/milkman who used to sell milk on his bicycle could not perform his work on account of the accident. He would further submit that the notional income assessed by the learned Tribunal was on the lower side. 7) On the other hand, Ms. Agrawal, the learned counsel appearing for respondent No.3/Insurance Company would oppose the submissions made by Mr. Saxena. She would submit that the claimant failed to produce documents with regard to his monthly income and in the absence of any relevant document, the Tribunal rightly assessed his monthly income as Rs. 5000/-. 8) I have heard learned counsel appearing for the parties and perused the record. 9) The only issue involved in the present case is with regard to the income of the claimant at the time of the accident. Learned Tribunal has assessed income as Rs.5,000/- per month and accordingly awarded compensation for a period of 11 months when the appellant could not perform his work. It appears that in the year 2016, an unskilled labourer was getting Rs.200/- per day i.e. Rs.6,000/- per month whereas the learned Tribunal has assessed the monthly income of the claimant Rs.5,000/-, which appears to be at the lower side. -4- 10) Taking into consideration the above-stated facts, the compensation awarded for the period when the claimant could not work is enhanced from Rs.55,000/- to Rs.66,000/-. Thus, the total compensation shall be Rs.3,01,167/-. The enhanced part shall carry interest @ 9% from the date of application till the date of its realization. The rest part of the award passed by the learned Tribunal shall remain intact. 11) In view of the above, the appeal is partly allowed. Sd/- (Rakesh Mohan Pandey) Judge Rekha