LALMAN SHARMA Vs. RAJU ALIAS RMJI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) NATIONAL Insurance Company Limited, on the other hand supports the award and submits that the Tribunal has been quite liberal in awarding substantial compensation of Rs. 1,24,000/- to the claimants, for the death of a boy aged about 18 years only.

(2.) THE findings that Shivcharan died on account of the injuries sustained by him in the accident and that the driver of the Truck was responsible for the accident have now attained finality, as the respondents have not filed any appeal against the award. That apart, we find overwhelming evidence on record in support of those findings. We, therefore, affirm the findings recorded by the Tribunal in that behalf. Deceased Shivcharan was earning his livelihood as a Cleaner. His father AW 1 Lalman Sharma has stated in para 1, that he was contributing his entire income to the family. Considering that the family consisted of five members, including the deceased himself, deduction of Rs. 3,000/- per annum as his personal expenses would be appropriate in the case. We, therefore, propose to recompute the compensation taking the dependency of the claimants at Rs. 15,000/- per annum. The multiplier of 10 selected by the Tribunal is appropriate, in view of the dictum of the apex Court in the case of Municipal Corporation of Greater Bombay v. Laxman Iyer and Another, reported in (2003) 8 SCC 731. By multiplying the annual dependency of Rs. 15,000/- with the multiplier of 10, the compensation works out to Rs. 1,50,000/-. The appellants are further entitled to Rs. 2,500/- for loss of estate; and Rs. 2,000/- for the funeral expenses. Thus, the appellants are entitled to receive a total sum of Rs. 1,54,500/- from the respondents, jointly and severally, as compensation for the death of Shivcharan in the accident.