Father entitled to accident relief along with mother

Justice S Vimala, while setting aside a finding of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Salem, that a mother alone is entitled to compensation and not the father because he is not the person mentioned in the legal heir certificate issued by the Revenue authorities, said, “In fact, the finding that the father is not entitled to compensation should have been more hurting than the death itself.” 

The Judge also held, “Legal heir certificate helps identify the heirs or surviving family members of a deceased person. It serves to establish the heirs to the deceased for claims relating to limited field and to limited extent that is pension, provident fund, gratuity or other service benefits of Central and state government departments, specifically when the deceased had not selected a nominee. Therefore, just because a person’s name is not found in the legal heir certificate cannot be a ground to decline the grant of compensation.” 

Justice Vimala also pointed out, “Originally, dependency has been considered as a criterion for awarding compensation. But dependency of a legal heir is not the “be all and all” criteria for claiming compensation.” 

The issue relates to one Dhamodaran (30), earning a sum of Rs 3, 000 per month, getting killed in an accident on October 24, 2008. The parents of the deceased filed a claim petition before the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Salem, seeking a compensation of Rs 7 lakh. But the Tribunal, on the other hand, awarded a sum of Rs 1 lakh.

Challenging the liability to pay compensation, the Insurance Company had filed the appeal. It had contended that the personal accident coverage policy was available only to the vehicle’s owner and not to each one of the persons, who is driving the vehicle at the time of accident. 

However, Justice Vimala on dismissing the Insurance Company’s plea for not furnishing the terms and conditions as contemplated under the Insurance Act, had taken up correctness of the proposition that the mother alone is entitled to compensation on the basis, “It is the duty of the court to correct the legal position as it is likely to affect the potential, future claims of fathers.” The Judge then directed the Insurance Company to deposit the award amount along with interest at the rate of 7.5 per cent per annum and that both the father and the mother of the deceased are permitted to withdraw the award amount.