Judgment : Mansoor Ahmad Mir, Chief Justice (oral) This appeal is directed against the award, dated 28th February, 2009, passed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal-II, Solan, H.P., (for short, “the Tribunal”) in Petition No.2-S/2 of 2007, titled Smriti Verma & another vs. Mohinder Singh Verma & another, whereby a sum of Rs.9,26,000/- alongwith interest at the rate of 12% per annum, came to be awarded as compensation in favour of the claimants, (for short the “impugned award”). 2. The claimants and the owner-cum-driver have not questioned the impugned award on any count. Thus, the same has attained finality so far it relates to them. 3. I have gone through the impugned award, is well reasoned, needs no interference. 4. The learned counsel for the appellant, during the course of hearing, was not able to show how the impugned award was excessive or bad in law. However, he argued that the Tribunal has awarded interest at the rate of 12% per annum, which is on the higher side and is not in accordance with Section 171 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, (for short, the Act). 5. It is beaten law of land that the rate of interest should be awarded as per the prevailing rates, in view of the judgments rendered by the Apex Court in cases titled as United India Insurance Co. Ltd. and others versus Patricia Jean Mahajan and others, reported in (2002) 6 Supreme Court Cases 281; Santosh Devi versus National Insurance Company Ltd. and others, reported in 2012 AIR SCW 2892; Amrit Bhanu Shali and others versus National Insurance Company Limited and others, reported in (2012) 11 Supreme Court Cases 738; Smt. Savita versus Binder Singh & others, reported in 2014 AIR SCW 2053; Kalpanaraj & Ors. versus Tamil Nadu State Transport Corpn., reported in 2014 AIR SCW 2982; Amresh Kumari versus Niranjan Lal Jagdish Pd. Jain and others, reported in (2015) 4 Supreme Court Cases 433, and Mohinder Kaur and others versus Hira Nand Sindhi (Ghoriwala) and another, reported in (2015) 4 Supreme Court Cases 434, and discussed by this Court in a batch of FAOs, FAO No. 256 of 2010, titled as Oriental Insurance Company versus Smt. Indiro and others, being the lead case, decided on 19.06.2015 and FAO No.63 of 2009, titled United India Insurance Company Ltd. vs. Gian Chand and others, decided on 7th August, 2015. 6. 6. Having said so, I deem it proper to reduce the rate of interest from 12% per annum to 7.5% per annum from the date of the claim petition till deposit. 7. The appeal is allowed and the impugned award is modified, as indicated above. 8. The Registry is directed to release the award amount, alongwith interest, in favour of the claimants, strictly in terms of the conditions contained in the impugned award, after proper identification, and the excess amount, if any, deposited by the insurer-appellant, be refunded in its favour through payees’ account cheque. 9. The appeal stands disposed of accordingly. 10. Send down the record after placing copy of the judgment on the Tribunal’s file.