JAWALA PARSHAD Vs. BANSI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The only question involved in the present appeal is regarding the quantum of compensation to which the appellants may be entitled to on account of death of their bread winner Satish Kumar in a motor vehicular accident. Though the claimants had pleaded that deceased Satish Kumar was a driver by profession and at the relevant time, when the accident had taken place, he was driving the jeep yet the fact remains that only the deceased was present in the jeep and none else. Moreover, no evidence had been led by the claimants about the deceased working as a driver or earning an amount of Rs. 20,000/- per month. Under these circumstances, no fault can be found with the approach of the Tribunal declining to hold that the deceased was a driver by profession or earning Rs. 20,000/- per month and, instead in assessing the monthly income of the deceased as Rs. 2,400/- per month and after deducting 1/3rd towards the expenditure which the deceased must be incurring upon himself, calculated the monthly dependency as Rs. 1,600/- or annual dependency of Rs. 19,200/-.

(2.) Admittedly, the deceased was 27 years of age at the time of the accident. The Tribunal had used the multiplicand of '16' in assessing the amount. However, in view of the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Sarla Verma and others v. Delhi Transport Corporation and another, 2009 3 RCR(Civ) 77, multiplier of '17' is required to be applied in the case of the deceased being between the ages of 26 and 30 years. Accordingly, while applying the multiplier of '17', the compensation is assessed as Rs. 3,26,400/-.

(3.) The Tribunal had granted an amount of Rs. 6,500/- in all on account of funeral expenses, loss of estate as well as loss of consortium qua appellant Shashi. This Court feels that the said amount is highly inadequate. Against these conventional heads, the appellant can be awarded an amount of Rs. 20,000/-. When the said amount of Rs. 20,000/- is added to the aforementioned figure of Rs. 3,26,400/-, the appellants are held entitled to receive total amount of Rs. 3,46,400/- as compensation. Resultantly, the appeal is allowed to the extent of enhancing the compensation amount from Rs. 3,14,000/- to Rs. 3,46,400/-. All the respondents shall be jointly and severally liable to pay the compensation amount. The enhanced amount shall earn interest @ 7.5% per annum from the date of filing of the claim petition till its realisation. Entire enhanced amount of compensation, alongwith the interest due thereupon, be paid to Smt. Shashi-appellant.