Sri Vivek Narayan Singh v. The Iffco-Tokio General Insurance Co Ltd

IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 17TH DAY OF AUGUST, 2026 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SHIVASHANKAR AMARANNAVAR MISCELLANEOUS FIRST APPEAL NO. 9271 OF 2025 (MV-I) BETWEEN:

¶1SRI VIVEK NARAYAN SINGH AGED ABOUT 22 YEARS, S/O RAVINDRA NARAYAN SINGH, R/A NO. 39, RAMACHANDRA ASHRAYA, VENKATAPPA STREET, NEAR MAVALLI MARKET, BENGALURU - 560 004.

…APPELLANT

(BY SRI. D. NAGARAJA., ADVOCATE)

AND:

¶1THE IFFCO-TOKIO GENERAL INSURANCE CO LTD REGIONAL OFFICE AT T.P. HUB, NO. 141, SHANTHI TOWERS, 5TH FLOOR, 3RD MAIN, EAST NGEF LAYOUT, KASTURI NAGAR, BENGALURU - 560 043 REPRESENTED BY ITS MANAGER.

¶2SRI MURTHY AGED ABOUT 26 YEARS, S/O VISHWANATH,

Location: HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA ((((((((((((HC-KAR, NC:(2026:KHC:43830( MFA(No.(9271(of(2025( ( ,,,,,,,,,, , CNR:(KAHC010803092025( ( ( NDR/O,NO.199,,2 ,FLOOR,,, AGAPE,BYBLE,CHURCH,,, TH4 ,CROSS,,DWARAKA,NAGAR,,, AF,STATION,,YELAHANKA,,, BENGALURU,560,062., , …RESPONDENTS, , (BY,SRI.,B,C,SHIVANNE,GOWDA,,ADVOCATE,FOR,R1,, V/O,DATED,18.12.2025,,NOTICE,TO,R2,D/W), , , THIS,MFA,IS,FILED,UNDER,SECTION,173(1),OF,MV,ACT,, AGAINST,THE,JUDGMENT,AND,AWARD,DT.,03.09.2025,PASSED, IN,MVC,NO.4643/2024,ON,THE,FILE,OF,XIV,ADDITIONAL,SCJ,, ACJM, AND, MEMBER-MACT,, BENGALURU, PARTLY, ALLOWING, THE, CLAIM, PETITION, FOR, COMPENSATION, AND, SEEKING, ENHANCEMENT,OF,COMPENSATION., , , THIS,APPEAL,,COMING,ON,FOR,ADMISSION,,THIS,DAY,, JUDGMENT,WAS,DELIVERED,THEREIN,AS,UNDER:, , CORAM:, HON'BLE,MR.,JUSTICE,SHIVASHANKAR,AMARANNAVAR, , ORAL(JUDGMENT( , This, appeal, is, filed, by, the, claimant, seeking, enhancement,of,compensation,awarded,by,the,Tribunal,in, judgment, and, award, dated, 03.09.2025, passed, in, MVC, No.4643/2024,by,the,learned,XIV,Additional,Small,Causes, Judge,and,Member,MACT,,Bengaluru,(SCCH-10).,,

2., Even, though, the, appeal, is, listed, today, for, admission,,it,is,taken,up,for,disposal,with,the,consent,of,

learned counsel for appellant and learned counsel for respondent No.1/Insurer.

¶3The appellant/claimant made a claim petition praying to award compensation for the injuries sustained by him in a road traffic accident occurred on 14.02.2024 due to the rash and negligent driving of the driver of Swift car bearing Regn. No.KA-50-B-4249.

¶4The Tribunal after recording the evidence, appreciating the evidence on record has assessed the compensation and awarded compensation under various heads as under:

Sl.No. Heads Compensation Medical expenses Rs. 12,200.00 Pain and sufferings Rs. 50,000.00 Nourishment and diet food Rs. 15,000.00 Loss of future earning capacity due to permanent disability Rs.5,34,600.00 Loss of amenities Rs. 40,000.00 Future medical expenses Rs. 50,000.00

Total Rs.7,01,800.00

¶5The Tribunal has also awarded interest at the rate of 6% per annum from the date of petition till realization and directed the respondent No.1/Insurer to deposit the award amount with interest. The claimant seeking enhancement of compensation awarded has filed the present appeal.

¶6Heard the learned counsel for appellant and learned counsel for respondent No.1/Insurer.

¶7Learned counsel for appellant would contend that the claimant has sustained fracture of middle third of both bones of right forearm. PW2/doctor has examined him and assessed disability at 62.8% of right upper limb and 21% to the whole body. The Tribunal has erred in taking the disability at 15%. Considering the fractures sustained, the compensation awarded towards pain and suffering is on the lower side. The claimant has spent Rs.2,21,750/- towards medical expenses as per Ex.P12/bills and he got Rs.1,00,000/- reimbursement by

Medi Claim policy. PW3/HR, Manager of New India Assurance Company and got produced the documents with regard to total medical claim made by the claimant, and the claimant only got reimbursement by Medi Claim Policy of Rs.1,00,000/-. The said Medi Claim reimbursement got by the claimant cannot be deducted in the medical expenses as per the decision of Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of New India Insurance Company Limited -vs-Dolly Satish Gandhi and another reported in 2026 INSC page 498. He further submitted that another bill/Ex.P17 with regard to OPD charges of Rs.1,900/- and that has not been considered by the Tribunal. He further submitted that the claimant was a student of 7th semester of B.Pharma and Ex.P16 are statement of marks card for semester examination including 6th semester. As the claimant is a student of B-Pharma, his income is to be taken higher than the chart income, which is fixed for unskilled labours. With this, he prayed to allow the appeal.

¶8Learned counsel for respondent No.1/Insurer would contend that the compensation awarded is just and proper, and there are no grounds for enhancement. The Tribunal has rightly awarded medical expenses only to the extent of the bills furnished by the claimant. The claimant is not entitled to amount got reimbursement by Medi Claim policy. The Tribunal has rightly taken the chart income since no documents are produced to show the income of the claimant. With this, he prayed to dismiss the appeal.

¶9Having heard the learned counsels, the Court has perused the judgment and award and trial court records.

¶10As per Ex.P11/discharge summery, the claimant has sustained fracture of middle third of both bones of right forearm. Considering the said fractures sustained by the claimant, the compensation awarded by the Tribunal for pain and suffering in a sum of Rs.50,000/- requires to

be enhanced to Rs.60,000/-. The compensation awarded for loss of amenities in a sum of Rs.40,000/- is just and proper.

¶11PW2 is a doctor, who has examined the claimant and assessed his disability, and stated that the claimant has sustained 62.8% disability of right upper limb and 21% disability to the whole body. The Tribunal has taken disability to the whole body at 15%. Since the disability is to the upper limb, one fourth of the same has to be taken as disability to the whole body, and therefore, the Tribunal has rightly taken the disability to the whole body at 15%.

¶12The statement of marks card is produced at Ex.P16. It clearly indicates that the claimant has completed his 6th semester of B.Pharma exam and studying in the 7th semester as on the date of accident. Even though the claimant has stated that he is getting income by taking tuition to the school students, but no

evidence is produced in that regard. Since the claimant is studying in 7th semester of B.Pharma, his income is to be taken higher than the chart income fixed for unskilled labours, and therefore, the income of the claimant has to be taken at Rs.20,000/- per month. The Tribunal has rightly applied multiplier 18.

¶13In view of the above, loss of future income is calculated as under: Rs.20,000 x 12 x 18 x 15% = Rs.6,48,000/-

¶14Considering the fact that the claimant has to undergo surgery for removal of the implant, compensation awarded towards future medical expenses a sum of Rs.50,000/- is just and proper. Since the claimant is a student, he is not entitled to loss of income during laid up period as he has not established that he is getting income by taking tuition.

¶15The claimant was admitted in the hospital for four days, and therefore, compensation awarded towards

food, nourishment etc. in a sum of Rs.15,000 is just and proper.

¶16As per Ex.P12/medical bills, the claimant has spent Rs.2,21,749/-. The claimant was having Medi Claim policy with PW3-Company. He got reimbursement of medical expenses of Rs.1,00,000/-. The evidence of PW3 and Ex.P25 clearly indicates that the claim made by the appellant towards reimbursement of medical expenses is Rs.2,21,749/- and out of that, he got medical reimbursement of Rs.1,00,000/-. Therefore the evidence on record clearly indicates that the claimant has spent a sum of Rs.2,21,749/- towards medical expenses and apart from that Ex.P17 indicates that he has spent OPD charges of Rs.1,900/-. Therefore the claimant is entitled to total medical expenses of Rs.2,23,649/- (Rs.2,21,749/- + Rs.1,900/-). The Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of New India Assurance Company Limited -vs-Dolly Satish (supra) has held that any amount got reimbursement by Medi Claim policy cannot be deducted in medical expenses

to be awarded. Therefore, the claimant is entitled to entire medical expenses in a sum of Rs.2,23,649/-.

¶17In view of the above, the claimant is entitled to total compensation under various heads as under: Sl.No. Heads Compensation Medical expenses Rs. 2,23,649.00 Pain and sufferings Rs. 60,000.00 Nourishment and diet food etc. Rs. 15,000.00 Loss of future income Rs. 6,48,000.00 Loss of amenities Rs. 40,000.00 Future medical expenses Rs. 50,000.00

Total Rs.10,36,649.00

¶18The claimant is entitled to total compensation of Rs.10,36,649/- as against Rs.7,01,800/- as awarded by the Tribunal with interest. Consequently, the claimant is entitled to enhanced compensation of Rs.3,34,849/- with interest at the rate of 6% per annum from the date of petition till realization. The respondent No.1/Insurer is liable to pay the said enhanced compensation with interest.

¶19In view of the above, the following:

ORDER

i) The appeal is allowed in part.

ii) The appellant/claimant is entitled to enhanced compensation of Rs.3,34,849/- with interest at the rate of 6% per annum from the date of petition till realization.

iii) The respondent No.1/Insurer shall deposit the said enhanced compensation with interest before the Tribunal within a period of six weeks from this day.

iv) The claimant is entitled to release of the entire enhanced compensation.

Sd/- (SHIVASHANKAR AMARANNAVAR) JUDGE

BKM List No.: 1 Sl No.: 32