SHARMILA SINGH Vs. RABIN GHOSH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal is at the instance of the claimants and is directed against an award dated July 30, 2005 passed by the learned Judge, Sixth Bench, City Civil court at Calcutta, in M. A. C. Case No. 225 of 2002 thereby disposing of an application under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act by awarding a sum of rs. 2,00,000/- as compensation on the death of the victim out of the which rs. 50,000/- had already been paid by the Insurance Company in an earlier proceeding under Section 140 of the Act.

(2.) BEING dissatisfied, the claimants have come up with the present appeal. There is no dispute that the victim died of an accident on 23rd April, 2002 and that the offending vehicle, the bus, was insured by the Oriental Insurance company Limited.

(3.) ACCORDING to the claimants, the victim was aged 41 years and used to earn rs. 20,000/- a month from his business. In her cross-examination, the widow of the victim admitted that her husband had a matador van, which was let out to the Greater Calcutta Gas Company, and her husband used to receive hire charges of the matador van from the company. The TDS certificates in Form no. 16a issued by the Greater Calcutta Gas Company, which were marked as exbts. 9, 9/1, and 9/2 disclosed that the victim received more than rs. 2,00,000/- as hire charges of the matador van from the said company for the financial year 2001-02 before his accidental death on 23rd April, 2002. The copy of the income-tax return filed by the victim for the assessment year 2001-02 disclosed that the annual income of the victim for the financial year 2000-01 was rs. 1,68,866/- out of which Rs. 2,888/- were paid as tax.