HERO Vs. GENERAL MANAGER, HARYANA ROADWAYS, AMBALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellants filed a petition claiming compensation for the death of Jai Bhagwan who died in a road accident which took place on 25.8.1984 between the cycle on which he was riding and a Haryana Roadways Bus. Appellant - Smt. Hero is the mother and appellants - Vijay, Jai Singh, Satta and Meshi Lal are the brothers of deceased - Jai Bhagwan. Petition qua the brothers of the deceased was dismissed and it was accepted in favour of appellant Smt. Hero only.

(2.) THE Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Karnal (for short "the Tribunal"), on appreciation of evidence led by the parties, held that the accident took place due to rash and negligent driving of the Haryana Roadways Bus as a result of which Jai Bhagwan lost his life. The Tribunal further held that under Section 1-A of the Fatal Accidents Act, only Smt. Hero, the mother of the deceased was entitled to compensation. The Tribunal held that the deceased must have been earning a sum of Rs. 390/- per month at the time of his death. Applying a cut of 1/3rd, the dependency of Smt. Hero on the deceased was assessed at Rs. 260/- per month. The Tribunal applied a multiplier of 10 and thus, awarded a total sum of Rs. 31,200/- with interest at the rate of 10% per annum from the date of institution of the petition till realisation.

(3.) AT the hearing, Shri Ashit Malik, learned counsel appearing for the appellants confined his submissions to quantum of compensation and argued that multiplier of 10 adopted by the Tribunal and accepted by the learned Single Judge was inadequate. The counsel contended that Jai Bhagwan was a young boy of 20 years only, at the time of death and, therefore, having regard to the age of the deceased and also of his mother who at the most would be aged 40 or 45 years at the relevant time, a higher multiplier deserved to be applied.