NEW INDIA ASSURANCE CO. LTD Vs. DHARAM PAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant has challenged the award of the Claims Tribunal whereby compensation of Rs.43,42,000/- has been awarded to the claimants. The appellant is seeking reduction of the award amount.

(2.) The accident dated 19th June, 2017 resulted in the death of Ajay Kumar. The deceased was aged 20 years at the time of the accident and was survived by his parents and an unmarried sister. The deceased was working as a Senior Executive and he was earning Rs.19,500/- per month at the time of the accident. The Claims Tribunal took the income of the deceased as Rs.19,500/- per month, added 50% towards future prospects, deducted 1/3rd towards personal expenses and applied the multiplier of 18 to compute the loss of dependency as Rs.42,12,000 /-. The Claims Tribunal awarded Rs.1,00,000/- towards loss of love and affection, Rs.15,000/- towards loss of estate and Rs.15,000/- towards funeral expenses. The total compensation awarded is Rs.43,42,000/-.

(3.) Learned counsel for the appellant urged at the time of the hearing that the personal expenses of the deceased be reduced from 1/3 to 1/2 considering that the deceased was unmarried. It is further submitted that the compensation for loss of love and affection is no more permissible head. Reliance is placed on National Insurance Co. Limited v. Pranay Sethi, 2017 ACJ 2700 (SC).