MESRAM CHINNU Vs. M.DOULATH RAO

JUDGEMENT

(1.) CHALLENGING the award dated 28.11.2008 in M.V.O.P.No.477 of 2005 passed by the Chairman, Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal -cum - District Judge, Adilabad (for short "Tribunal"), the claimants preferred the instant M.A.C.M.A on the ground that compensation awarded by the Tribunal as low and inadequate.

(2.) THE factual matrix of the case is thus: a) The claimants are the parents of deceased boy - M. Nagender, aged 5 years and they are residents of Muthnoor Village, Indervelli Mandal of Adilabad District. Their case is that on 09.11.2004m, at about 5:30pm, when the deceased was standing by the side of the road near their house, the driver of the auto bearing No.AP 01 KA T/R 186 drove the auto at high speed and hit the deceased and thereby the boy suffered fatal injuries and subsequently died in the Church Hospital in that local area. The claimants pleaded that the accident was occurred due to the fault of the driver of the auto rickshaw. They further pleaded that the deceased was a student and a bright boy and due to his abrupt death, he lost prospects in the life and they lost their future supporter. On these pleas, the claimants filed M.V.O.P.No.477 of 2005 and claimed compensation of Rs.1,50,000/ - under various heads against respondent Nos.1 and 2 who are the owner and insurer of the offending auto rickshaw. b) Respondent Nos.1 and 2 filed counters and opposed the claim. c) During trial PWs.1 to 3 were examined, Exs.A.1 to A.5 were marked on behalf of claimants. Policy copy filed by 2nd respondent was marked as Ex.B.1. d) Perusal of the judgment would show that the Tribunal having regard to the eye witness account of PW.2 and supporting documents like Ex.A.1 - F.I.R, Ex.A.2 - inquest report and Ex.A.4 - charge sheet held that the accident was occurred due to the fault of the auto driver. Coming to the quantum of compensation, the Tribunal has observed that the deceased was an infant boy of 5 years and a non - earning member. Therefore, to assess compensation, the Tribunal having relied upon the decisions reported in Oriental Insurance Company Limited vs. Syed Ibrahim and others and Smt. Lata Wadhwa and others vs. State of Bihar and others granted compensation of Rs.1,11,500/ - as follows: <FRM>JUDGEMENT_23_LAP_2014.htm</FRM> e) It may be noted that in the process of arriving at the above compensation, the Tribunal declined to consider the decisions relied upon by the claimants on the ground that the deceased in those cases were the children aged 9 and 13 years and so notional income of Rs.15,000/ - as applied in those cases cannot be applied to the instant case since the deceased in the instant case was aged 5 years. Instead, as already stated, the Tribunal followed the case of Oriental Insurance Company Limited vs. Syed Ibrahim and others (1 Supra), which was relating to the death of a child aged 7 years. The Tribunal observed that as per the above decision, the compensation for the death of a child cannot be assessed as in the case of an adult. Hence, the appeal by claimants for enhancement of compensation.

(3.) FULMINATING the award of the Tribunal, learned counsel for appellant argued that the Tribunal erred in not applying notional income of Rs.15,000/ - per annum to the deceased for computation of loss of future earnings of the deceased. He argued that though the deceased was an infant and a non -earning member by the date of his death, still the Tribunal ought to have taken his notional income as Rs.15,000/ - p.a and ought to have computed compensation through multiplier method. Instead, the Tribunal granted only a lump sum amount of Rs.50,000/ - as notional loss of earnings which is impermissible under law. He thus prayed to review the compensation under this head and grant enhanced compensation. In this context, he relied upon a decision reported in R.K.Malik and another vs. Kiran Pal and others.