SUNDER SHRI SHEOJI Vs. RAMESHWAR DASS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ONE Jai Singh was working as field Officer in the office of the Assistant Cotton Development Authority, Fatehabad, District Hissar. On October 19, 1982 said Jai Singh was travelling in a bus run by Motroia Bus Service which met with an accident with a Haryana Roadways Bus. Unfortunately, said Jai Singh died in the accident. His widow Savitri and his mother Shmt. Sunder Devi filed a claim petition before the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Sirsa in which they claimed Rs. 40,000/- as compensation. The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal after holding that the accident had been caused due to rash and negligent driving by Rameshwar Dass, driver, Roadways, Sirsa, awarded Rs. 28,800/- as compensation to the claimants. It may be observed that the deceased at that time was drawing Rs. 475 per month and his age was about 25 years. It may, however, be mentioned that the claimants had claimed compensation only of Rs. 40,000/ -.

(2.) THE tribunal while calculating the amount of compensation held that the dependency of the claimants on the deceased was only to the tune of Rs. 150. 00 and the balance of the salary was being spent by the deceased himself. He had applied multiplier of 16. Dissatisfied with the award of the Tribunal, claimants have come up in appeal in this court.

(3.) AFTER hearing the learned counsel for the parties, I am of the view that the learned tribunal erred in holding that the claimants dependency was only Rs. 150/- per month. Considering the status of the family, it can reasonably be held that the deceased was spending about Rs. 150/himself and the balance on the claimants. Consequently dependency would come to Rs. 325/- per month. There is nothing wrong in applying multiplier of 16. If the dependency is calculated at Rs 325/- per month and multiplier of 16 is applied, compensation will be much more than Rs. 40,000/ -. Since, the claim was only for Rs. 40,000/- the award of the Tribunal is modified to the extent that the claimant would be entitled to compensation of Rs. 40,000/ -.