PUSHPA CHADHA Vs. SHER SINGH DRIVER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Shri Madan Mohan Chadha, a businessman, aged about 45 years was travelling in car No. DLE-3465 when it met with an accident with truck No. HRA-6067 belonging to the Electricity Board Haryana. He succumbed to the injuries sustained by him during the course of this accident. His wife and three minor childrens filed a claim petition which was disposed of by the learned Motor Accident claims Tribunal, Ambala. The claimants were awarded Rs. 45,000/- on the basis that the deceased was earning Rs. 1,500/- per month out of which he was spending half of the amount on the claimants. The claimants have come up in appeal before me for enhancement of compensation.

(2.) Smt. Pushpa Chadha while appearing in the witness box stated that her husband was earning Rs. 1,500/- per month. It is also in evidence that the deceased was living in West Patel Nagar in a house belonging to the family. It is stated that the deceased used to supply novelty goods, publicity goods and packing material to Mohan Meaken Breweries Ltd. and other such Companies. An income tax return was filed on behalf of the deceased after his death which showed that Rs. 1,300/- were paid as advance tax. This bit of evidence was discarded by the learned Tribunal on the ground that this return might have been created by the claimants because of the pendency of their claim petition.

(3.) In a business like this, there can hardly be any other evidence about the income of the deceased. Even though Smt. Pushpa Chadha claimant has claimed that the deceased was earning Rs. 1,500/- per month, yet this estimate was likely to have been exaggerated to some extent. The fact, however, remains that the deceased was living in the metropolitian city of Delhi in a fairly prestigious locality and maintaining a family of five members three of whom were school going children. For determining the compensation in these cases, a Court has to indulge in some sort of guess work. Considering the business the status and the way of life of the deceased and in the light of the statement made by Smt. Pushpa Chadha claimant, I hold that the deceased was earning a sum of Rs. 900/- per month. In Lachman Singh and others v. Gurmit Kaur and others, 1979 81 PunLR 1, a full Bench of this Court held that out of the total income earned by the deceased 1/3rd of it should be set apart as the amount spent by him on his own upkeep. The monthly dependency value of the claimants therefore, comes to Rs. 600/-. The full Bench also awarded compensation by allowing multiple of 16 of the annual dependency value of the claimants when the life of the deceased in that case had been cut short by 37 years. In the year 1970, life expectancy can be taken to be 65 years. In this case I allow a multiple of 10 of the annual dependency value of the claimants as compensation which comes to Rs. 72,000/-. The claimants shall be entitled to have interest on this amount at the rate of 6 per cent per annum with effect from the date when the claim petition was filed as also the costs of these proceedings throughout. The liability of the Insurance Company shall be limited to the extent of Rs. 50,000/- only. The appeal stands disposed of accordingly.