Strict Rules Of Evidence As Applicable In A Criminal Trial, Are Not Applicable In Motor Accident Compensation Cases : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court reiterated that strict rules of evidence as applicable in a criminal trial, are not applicable in motor accident compensation cases.

In this case, the Rajasthan High Court, while reducing the compensation awarded by the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal to claimants, refused to consider the salary certificate and pay slip of the deceased merely on the ground that the person issuing these documents was not examined before the Tribunal.

In appeal filed by the claimants, the Apex Court bench of Justices Krishna Murari and S. Ravindra Bhat disagreed with this approach of the High Court and observed:

"In a case relating to motor accident claims, the claimants are not required to prove the case as it is required to be done in a criminal trial. The Court must keep this distinction in mind. It is well settled that Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 is a beneficial piece of legislation and as such, while dealing with compensation cases, once the actual occurrence of the accident has been established, the Tribunal's role would be to award just and fair compensation. As held by this Court in Sunita (Supra) and Kusum Lata (Supra), strict rules of evidence as applicable in a criminal trial, are not applicable in motor accident compensation cases, i.e., to say, "the standard of proof to be borne in mind must be of preponderance of probability and not the strict standard of proof beyond all reasonable doubt which is followed in criminal cases".

The court said that documents produced by the claimants are conclusive proof of the income of the deceased and were also corroborated by the statements of the deceased's wife and his co-workers

Allowing the appeal, the Court awarded compensation of Rs. 20,98,655/- to the claimants.

Case details

Rajwati @ Rajjo vs United India Insurance Company Ltd. | 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 1016 | CA 8179 OF 2022 | 9 December 2022 | Justices Krishna Murari and S. Ravindra Bhat

For Appellant(s) Mr. Anuj Bhandari, AOR Ms. Disha Bhandari, Adv. Ms. Anjali Doshi, Adv. Ms. Kanika Sanwal, Adv. Mr. Gaurav Jain, Adv; For Respondent(s) Mr. Varinder Kumar Sharma, AOR Ms. Nidhi, AOR Mr. Mohit Girdhar, Adv. Mr. Sarthak Arora, Adv.

Headnotes

Motor Accident Compensation Claims - Strict rules of evidence as applicable in a criminal trial, are not applicable in motor accident compensation cases - Disagreed with the view taken by the High Court while rejecting the salary certificate and pay slip of the deceased merely on the ground that the person issuing the two aforementioned documents was not examined before the Tribunal - Followed Sunita vs. Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation (2020) 13 SCC 486 and Kusum Lata vs. Satbir (2011) 3 SCC 646. (Para 16-20)

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