JAGADISH CHANDRA PATHAK Vs. KUNDAN SINGH PANGTY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this Appeal filed by claim ants for enhancement of compensation, learned Single Judge of this Court referred the following question for determination by a Larger Bench:

(2.) Thus, the matter has come before this Court by order passed by Hon'ble the Chief Justice. In the reference order, learned Single Judge has relied on a judgment rendered in Appeal from Order No.106 of 2018 (The New India Assurance Company Limited Vs. Smt. Vimla Devi and others), wherein another learned Single Judge of this Court had expressed "disagreement with the findings given of paragraph no.14 of the judgment of the Hon'ble Apex Court" in the case of Kirti and another Vs. Oriental Insurance Company Limited, reported in (2021) 2 SCC 166. Paragraph no.10 of the judgment rendered in Appeal from Order No.106 of 2018 is reproduced below:

(3.) It is now well settled that, in fatal road accidents, even if the dependents of the deceased are not able to prove the income of the deceased, then also the compensation is awarded to them based on notional income of the deceased. In cases where deceased was either self-employed or employed in unorganized sector and his income could not be proved for want of evidence, then his income has to be determined notionally to ensure that compensation paid to his dependents is fair and just. Thus, element of guesswork is involved in the process of determining notional income.