Compensation amount cannot be enhanced without discussing disability suffered by complainant, holds Top Court
"While enhancing the amount of compensation to Rs. 10 lakhs, the National Commission has just referred to few decisions of this Court...has straightaway enhanced the amount of compensation. It is to be noted that the amount of compensation varies from person to person, looking to the damages and/or disability suffered/sustained", the Court observed.
The Supreme Court on Friday set aside an order passed by the NCDRC enhancing the amount of compensation awarded to a complainant while holding that such an order could not be passed by the Commission without discussing the disability suffered by the complainant.
"Merely because in some cases, the amount of compensation has been enhanced, in other cases, the amount of compensation cannot be enhanced. While enhancing the amount of compensation to Rs. 10 lakhs as such, the learned National Commission has not at all discussed the disability suffered by the complainant. Therefore, also, the impugned judgment and order passed by the National Commission enhancing the amount of compensation to Rs. 10 lakhs is unsustainable", a division bench observed.
In the case before court, a minor had filed a consumer complaint before the District Forum through her father alleging medical negligence against the Chandigarh Nursing Home, who suffered from wrong diagnosis and wrong treatment, which led to rashes on her body, and which became beyond control.
It was alleged that the doctor, who treated her was a BAMS (Ayurveda Doctor) and was not competent to prescribe allopathic medicines, which amounts to medical negligence.
The District Forum directed Nursing Home to pay an amount of Rs. 1 lakh alongwith interest @ 9% from the date of order holding that there was a negligence on their part.
This order was challenged before the State Commission by the Nursing Home only and not the complainant. After dismissal, the same was also challenged before the National Commission, which enhanced the compensation to Rs. 10 lakhs.
Court agreed with the submissions made by Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayana, who told the court that in a revision application preferred by the Nursing Home aggrieved by the order passed by the District Forum, that too when neither any appeal was preferred by the original complainant before the State Commission, nor the National Commission, the National Commission was not justified in enhancing the amount of compensation in the revision application/petition preferred by the appellants.
The bench of Justices MR Shah and Krishna Murari further noted that at no point in time, the original complainant challenged the order passed by the District Forum being aggrieved by the quantum of compensation and as such, that order attained finality in so far as the original complainant was concerned.
"At the most, the National Commission could have dismissed the revision application unless the National Commission specifically exercises a suo moto revisional power in exercise of the powers under Section 21(b) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. In the present case, from the impugned judgment and order passed by the National Commission, it does not appear that the National Commission exercised the suo moto revisional power", the bench further found.
Court also noted that the Nursing Home was not put to notice that the National Commission is to enhance the amount of compensation in exercise of the revisional power. They were taken by surprise and the National Commission without giving any opportunity to them has enhanced the amount of compensation, the bench held.
However, at the same time, looking to the negligence held to be proved and the trauma and the sufferings by the complainant, and that at the relevant time the compensation determined was Rs. 1 lakh only as opposed to the thousands of rupees spent for her treatment and medicines and the fact that even today the complainant had not recovered completely and is under treatment, Court ordered thus,
"...we are of the opinion that the amount of Rs. 1 lakh awarded by the District Forum is required to be enhanced in exercise of the powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India so as to do the substantial justice to the complainant. We are of the opinion that if the amount of compensation is enhanced to a total sum of Rs. 4 lakhs (instead of Rs. 1 lakh awarded by the District Forum), the same shall meet the ends of justice."
Case Title: Chandigarh Nursing Home and Anr. vs. Sukhdeep Kaur