SAYADA BAI Vs. BANE SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) DISSATISFIED with the quantum of compensation, the appellants have preferred this appeal under section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act against the award dated 15.12.2003, passed by the Additional Member, Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Kukshi, district Dhar in Claim Case No. 07/01. Appellants are the widow and children of deceased Bhagwan Singh Bhil, who died in a motor accident on 22.9.2000 in village Agar, on being ran over by a bus bearing registration No. MP09-7262. The said accident was on account of rashness and negligence of its driver Banesingh s/o Gulab Singh (respondent No. 1) for which respondent No. 2 was vicariously liable.

(2.) THE respondent No. 3 being the Insurance Company was also liable under the terms of the policy. A sum of Rs. 6,00,000/- was claimed on the ground that as an unskilled labourer, the deceased was earning Rs. 3,000/- p.m. and supporting the appellants. Amount was also claimed for funeral and other rites. The respondents resisted the claim and denied that the accident occurred on account of the rashness and negligence of the driver of the vehicle.

(3.) BEFORE us the learned counsel for the parties have not disputed the death of the deceased in the said accident and that the death had occurred on account of the rash and negligent driving of the bus by respondent No. 1. Learned counsel for the appellants has submitted that even if the deceased was treated to have been working as an unskilled labourer, the sum of Rs. 1,500/- p.m. taken as his income was quite low and much below the minimum wages fixed for such labourers. Under these circumstances, even on the finding arrived at by the Tribunal the income of the deceased should have been taken as Rs. 1,800/- p.m. and if l/3rd was reduced from this income as the personal expenses of the deceased, the contribution of the deceased towards his family would come to Rs. 1,200/- p.m., the earning thus calculated, the annual dependency comes to Rs. 14,400/- and if to this dependency, keeping in view the age group of the appellants, a proper multiplier of 15 is applied, the amount comes to Rs. 2,16,000/-. To this amount if the amount for funeral expenses, loss of estate, and loss of consortium in respect of the widow and love and affection in respect of the children a consolidated sum of Rs. 15,000/- is added, the compensation payable to the appellants comes to Rs. 2,31,000/-. Thus, the appellants become entitled to recover from the respondents Rs. 2,31,000/-.