ORIENTAL INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED Vs. MARIMUTHU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS Civil Miscellaneous Appeal is filed by the Insurance Company challenging the multiplier adopted in the quantification of compensation. The legal representatives of the deceased-Shanmugam Pillai has filed the claim petition claiming a sum of Rs.5,00,000/- as compensation, and the Tribunal has awarded a compensation of Rs.2,34,000/- with interest at 7.5% p.a. from the date of petition.

(2.) IT is the claim of the claimants that the deceased was earning a sum of Rs.8,000/- per month and the age of the deceased was 56 years. The Tribunal has taken the monthly income of the deceased at Rs.3,000/-, deducted 1/3rd of the amount towards personal expenses and arrived at the annual dependency at Rs.24,000/-. Adopting the multiplier of 8 and taking the age of the deceased as 56 years, the Tribunal has quantified the compensation at Rs.1,92,000/- towards loss of dependency.

(3.) THE age of the deceased given by Doctor, in the Post Mortem Certificate, is not based upon any scientific investigation. It would be based on the information which would have been furnished by the persons in and around the Doctor. Therefore, the contention that the age as mentioned in the Post Mortem Certificate should be the correct age, cannot be accepted. The Tribunal is not incorrect in fixing the age of the deceased at 56 years based upon Exs.P6 and P7, and ignoring the Post Mortem Certificate.