NEW INDIA ASSURANCE CO LTD Vs. ANGURI DEVI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal of the New India Assurance Company against the award of the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, dated 19.1.1980. The accident took place on 16.6.1973, in which one Lekh Raj Singh was killed. The fact of the accident is not disputed by the appellant and, indeed, as an insurance company they cannot challenge the award on merits.

(2.) It is submitted that the Tribunal has assumed that the deceased would have lived upto the age of 65 and has calculated the compensation on that basis. It is submitted that while the dependency of the minor claimants has been computed till the ages of 22 and 24 only, the age of 65 years should not have been computed for the purposes of awarding the compensation. I do not find any substance in this argument as it is not legally tenable. The compensation amount is worked out on the basis of the possible longevity of the deceased and the contribution which he would have made towards the family.

(3.) The second submission is that the daughters of the deceased were married by the time the petition was heard and that fact has not been taken into account by the Tribunal. The marriage of the daughters has relevance to the compensation amount to be paid, but in a different way. In fact, it is one of the considerations in awarding the compensation as to whether the deceased would be required to bear the expenses on the education and marriage of his children. There is no merit in this submission.