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Delhi: The Delhi High Court recently awarded a compensation of over ₹1.12 crores, to a school girl who sustained serious injuries leaving her permanently disabled post a motor vehicle accident she met with in 2017, on the way to her home from school [Jyothi Singh v Nand Kishore & Ors.].
Justice Najmi Waziri passed the order on an appeal filed by the schoolgirl challenging an order of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal granting her ₹47.49 lakh as compensation for the injuries she suffered in the road accident.
“The award is enhanced by Rs.65,09,779/-. The total compensation awarded to the appellant-Jyoti Singh is Rs.1,12,59,389/- payable @7.5% p.a. w.e.f. 10.03.2008 i.e. the date of filing of the claim petition before the MACT, till its realization,” the High Court said.
Before the High Court, advocate Saurabh Kansal, appearing for the petitioner-schoolgirl, submitted that she will be wheelchair-bound lifelong. He said that she is unable to move on her own without the assistance of an attendant,even for small needs like going to the washroom as she suffers from 100% disability qua spine, and both lower limbs.
He further submitted that she has lost movement of her body below the stomach, including losing control over her bladder and bowel movements, and will be completely dependent on attendants throughout her life.
Kansal argued that many pecuniary heads were not duly considered by the MACT and the claims under those heads were declined without any sustainable justification.
After considering the material on record, including medical reports, the High Court accepted the contentions raised by Kansal and computed a total compensation of ₹1,12,59,389.
It enhanced the compensation to that amount and disposed of the appeal.
The petitioner was represented by advocates Saurabh Kansal, Ashu Chaudhary, Divyam Aggarwal, and Arjun Goswami.
The respondents were represented by advocates AK Soni, Pavan Kumar, Tarun Johri, Vishwajeet Tyagi, Tushar Sannu, Devrat Tiwari, Azad Bansal, Balendu Shekhar, Raj Kumar, Nikhil Sharma, and Aditya Gupta.
