SULAIMAN Vs. UMESHKUMAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellants are the claimants in O.P.(MV) No. 554 of 2005 on the file of the M.A.C.T., Thodupuzha, who are the legal heirs of deceased Gaffoor who succumbed to the injuries sustained on account of an accident occurred on 08.02.2005 when a Pick Up Van bearing Registration No. KL. 5R/4203 hit on a Tempo Van which in turn hit the deceased while he was walking. He was taken to Exelsior hospital at Thodupzha from where he was referred to Medical Mission Hospital, Kolencherry and he died on 09.02.2005. Claim petition was filed seeking compensation to the tune of Rs. 7 lakhs.

(2.) Since the deceased was a student, the Tribunal, observing that he has not attained the age of earning, fixed Rs. 15,000/- as his notional annual income and awarded a total sum of Rs. 1,56,000/- under various heads. The deceased was 20 years of age at the time of the accident and was a student of Newmans College at Thodupuzha. Reckoning the multiplier as 13, the Tribunal awarded a sum of Rs. 1,30,000/- towards compensation for loss of dependency as against the claim for a sum of Rs. 5 lakhs. The total compensation of Rs. 1,56,000/- was awarded under the following heads:

(3.) We find that the compensation awarded under various heads are thoroughly inadequate. Appellants 1 and 2 have lost their son on account of negligence on the part of the drivers of the vehicles. But nothing is awarded towards loss of love and affection. Going by the decisions Syed Sadiq v. Divisional Manager, 2014 AIR(SC) 1052 (Para. 8), the income of a even a worker in an unorganized sector can be reckoned as Rs. 4,500/- per month. In this case, the deceased is a student and hence we fix Rs. 3,500/- as his monthly income and re-fix the compensation towards loss of dependency after deducting half towards personal expenses and adopting the multiplier of 18. Going by the judgment of the Apex Court in Rajesh v. Rajbir Singh, 2013 3 KerLT 89 the reasonable amount towards funeral expenses is Rs. 25,000/- and hence we enhance the same to Rs. 25,000/-. The Tribunal has not granted any amount towards loss of love and affection, hospitalisation, etc. Towards loss of estate a sum of Rs. 10,000/- alone is granted. Therefore, we are of the view that a sum of Rs. 1,00,000/- would be a just compensation towards loss of estate and loss of love and affection together. Accordingly we find that the claimants are entitled to the following amounts as compensation: