KALA DEVI Vs. SAJJAN SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is claimants' appeal for enhancement of compensation.

(2.) SHORN of unnecessary details, the undisputed facts of the case which emerge from the file are that Virender Singh Yadav, D. S. P. /assistant Commandant, 79 Central Reserve Police Force Battalion, (since deceased) was travelling in jeep No. HZY 9133 which met with accident with bus bearing No. PBA 7716 owned by Municipal Corporation, Amritsar. As a result of the said accident, Virender Singh Yadav succumbed to the injuries. Kala Devi, w/o the deceased and three children, out of whom two were minors, filed claim petition before Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Amritsar, seeking compensation to the tune of Rs. 20,00,000/- on account of the death of Virender Singh Yadav. In this case, the deceased at the time of his death was about 40 years old. His gross emoluments were Rs. 3,139/- per month and his carry-home salary was Rs. 1,857/- per month out of which the deceased used to keep about Rs. 500/- per month for himself. The Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal assessed the monthly income of the deceased at Rs. 1,857/- and monthly dependency at Rs. 1,357/- taking into consideration the fact that the deceased must be spending at least Rs. 500/- per month on himself. A multiplier of 10 was applied and by doing so awarded a total sum of Rs. 1,60,000/- as compensation. Aggrieved against the award, the claimants have filed this appeal.

(3.) THE argument raised at the Bar is that while calculating the monthly income of the deceased, the deductions from the salary made towards income tax, GPF and insurance could not be segregated as these are part and parcel of the salary drawn by the deceased. The other plea is, taking into consideration the fact that the deceased was about 40 years of the age at the time of his death, a higher multiplier should have been applied by the Tribunal.