AJEET Vs. SUNNABASAPPA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE appeals arise out of an award made by the Motor Accidents claims Tribunal, Hubli, whereby M. V. C. Nos. 72 and 73 of 1995 have been allowed in part and a sum of Rs. 13,27,000 awarded in M. V. C. No. 72 of 1995 for the death of late Dr. Venkatesh Kanakaraddi and a sum of Rs. 1,36,400 awarded in the connected M. V. C. No. 73 of 1995 as compensation for the death of late Rajeshwari w/o venkatesh Kanakaraddi both of whom died in a road accident. While M. F. A. Nos. 4085 and 4086 of 1997 filed by the claimants against the owner of the offending vehicle and the insurance company seek enhancement of the amount of compensation, M. F. A. No. 3740 of 1997 filed by the insurance company with which the vehicle was insured seeks reduction of the amount already awarded.

(2.) ON 5. 8. 1991 at around 7. 30 a. m. , the deceased Venkatesh Kanakaraddi and his wife accompanied by four other persons were travelling on the Poona-Bangalore road on their way to Mudhol. When the car reached a place called Tadas Cross nearly 30 km. short of Hubli, it met with accident with a mini lorry bearing registration No. KA 25-1040 which was coming from the opposite direction and was being driven rashly and negligently by its driver. As a result of the accident Dr. Ven-katesh Kanakaraddi died on the spot. His wife Rajeshwari Raddi who was occupying the front seat with him received serious injuries and died on her way to the hospital. Out of the occupants on the back seat of the car, Akkubai also died on her way to the hospital while Krithika succumbed to the injuries sustained by her after reaching the hospital for treatment. The other two occupants in the car, namely, Veena and moulasab, however, escaped with minor injuries. The sons of the deceased couple who are appellants in M. F. A. Nos. 4085 and 4086 of 1997 in due course filed two claim petitions for payment of compensation before the M. A. C. T. at Hubli. In m. V. C. No. 72 of 1995 the claimants have sought an amount of Rs. 1,00,00,000 as compensation on account of the death of their father Dr. Venkatesh Kanakaraddi, whereas in M. V. C. No. 73 of 1995, they claimed an amount of Rs. 25,00,000 as compensation on account of the death of their mother Rajeshwari.

(3.) THE case of the claimants as set out in the claim petitions was that the accident in question had taken place entirely on account of the rash and negligent driving of the offending mini lorry which entitled the claimants to a suitable amount towards compensation. The deceased Dr. Kanakaraddi was according to the claimants running a nursing home in Mahalingapur in the name and style of Venkatesh Nursing home and earning a sum of Rs. 45,000 per month. In the second claim petition arising out of the death of Rajeshwari, the mother of the claimants, the case of the claimants was that she was assisting her husband in running the nursing home and earning a sum of Rs. 2,000 per month. Both these claim petitions were contested by the respondents on several grounds, giving rise to several issues which the Tribunal framed and eventually decided in favour of the claimants. The Tribunal held that the accident in question had in fact taken place on account of the rash and negligent driving of the mini lorry by its driver. While doing so, the Tribunal relied upon the testimony of the witnesses produced by the claimants including one of the passengers travelling in the car and held that the driver of the lorry not having been examined, there was no option but to hold that the accident was on account of the negligence of the lorry driver alone. On the question of compensation awardable to the claimants, Claims tribunal upon appreciation of the evidence adduced before it came to the conclusion that the same did not satisfactorily establish that deceased was running a nursing home as alleged. The assertions made to that effect in the statements made by the claimants and the witnesses produced by them were held to be self-serving. The Tribunal all the same found that the material placed on record sufficiently established that the income of the deceased Dr. Raddi was not less than Rs. 1,50,000 per annum. Out of the said amount, Tribunal deducted 1/3rd representing personal expenses of the deceased taking the balance of Rs. 1,00,000 as his contribution to the family. Relying upon the decision of the Apex Court in u. P. State Road Trans. Corpn. v. Trilok chandra, 1996 0 ACJ 831 (SC), the Tribunal chose a multiplier of 13 and quantified the total amount of compensation on account of loss of dependency at Rs. 13,00,000. To that amount was added Rs. 2,000 towards funeral expenses, Rs. 5,000 to each of the petitioners under the head loss of love and affection and Rs. 10,000 towards loss to the estate. Thus taking the total amount to rs. 13,27,000 made payable with interest at 9 per cent per annum from the date of claim petition till the date of payment.