HC recognises religious body as legal heir of dead member

The Madras High Court has recognised a religious organisation as the legal heir of a woman who died in an 2002 accident and allowed it to receive compensation awarded by a tribunal.

Justice A M Basheer Ahamed permitted St Maria Auxilum Sisters's Congress, represented by sister Animariya, to claim the compensation for the death of sister Alangara Mary.

Dismissing an appeal by Tamil Nadu State Transport Corp challenging the award of Rs 3.22 lakh by Tiruchirappalli Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, the court allowing the organisation to receive the compensation.

Sister Mary died on March 1, 2002 after she was knocked down by a state-run bus on Tiruchirappalli-Dindigul road.

Claiming that Mary died because of rash driving, the organisation had approached the tribunal seeking compensation.

The tribunal had directed the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corp to pay Rs 3.22 lakh as compensation to the organisation.

During the hearing of the appeal, the corporation disputed the locus standi of the religious organisation to claim compensation as a legal dependent of the deceased.

The corporation contended that a religious organisation cannot be a legal representative of the deceased.

"There was an employer and employee relationship between the organisation and Mary and that the employer cannot be a legal heir of the employee," it said.

The corporation cited a Supreme Court decision in the Montfort Brothers in St Gabriel case allowing the organisation to receive compensation on behalf of the deceased member.

The congress said a religious organisation may suffer considerable loss because of the death of a voluntary worker making it eligible to claim such compensation.

"Mary joined us and did social service after denouncing her family and was working as sister," the organisation said.

Agreeing with the submissions, the judge said when there was no evidence that the deceased had other legal representative, the organisation has the locus standi and is entitled to be her legal representative.