P. UMA, P. VARSHA, P. VAISHNAVI AND LALITHAMMA Vs. MALLANAGOUDA, BASANAGOUDA AND THE MANAGER, NEW INDIA INSURANCE CO. LTD.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) MFA No. 30845/2013 is filed by the claimants in MVC No. 169/2012 seeking enhancement of compensation, aggrieved by the judgment and award dated 28.12.2012 of the MACT (FTC -I), Raichur, while MFA No. 31108/2013 is filed by the insurer of the offending vehicle calling in question the very same judgment and award alleging that the compensation is excessive. With the consent of the learned counsel for the parties, appeals are clubbed together, finally heard and are disposed of by this common order.

(2.) THE fact that one P. Pratap Reddy aged 37 years as on 11.12.2011 the date of accident and death, involving the offending vehicle being a motor car bearing certificate of Registration KA -36/M -3249 and that the deceased a businessman was the proprietor of "M/s. Srinivas Cotton Traders" are not in dispute. So also what is not in dispute is that for the assessment year 2010 -2011 the income tax return Ex. P -13 discloses that the deceased returned a gross income of Rs. 2,55,879/ - and after deducting income tax of Rs. 7,315/ - his income was Rs. 2,48,564/ - while for the assessment year 2011 -2012 in terms of Ex. P -14 the declared gross income was Rs. 7,33,114/ - and after deducting Rs. 71,165/ - towards income tax the balance is Rs. 6,61,949/ -. It is also a matter of fact that under Ex. P -15 the income tax return for the assessment year 2012 -2013 the year of accident and death of the proprietor, the income returned was Rs. 94,218/ -.

(3.) HAVING heard the learned counsel for the parties, perused the pleadings and examined the judgment and award impugned, we find that the MACT adopted a very strange method in determination of compensation under the head loss of dependency. If the deceased returned an annual income of Rs. 2,48,564/ - after deducting income tax for the assessment year 2010 -2011 and Rs. 6,61,949/ - on deducting income tax for the assessment year 2011 -2012 while during the year in which the accident took place and the assessee died, naturally and obviously the income was reduced and the gross income was shown as Rs. 94,218/ -. Needless to state that it is the average of the incomes for the assessment years 2010 -2011 and 2011 -2012 is necessarily to be reckoned to arrive at the total income of the deceased. It is also a matter of fact that Exs. P -13 and P -14 discloses the filing of returns much prior to the death of the deceased i.e. for the assessment years 2010 -2011 and 2011 -2012. The income for the assessment year 2012 -2013 is unavailable for the purpose of determination of the income since the assessee died on 11.12.2011 in the accident.