GURDIP SINGH Vs. PARBATI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE challenge here is to the award of Rs. 20,000/- as compensation to the mother Parbati whose daughter Bimla Rani was killed, when she was involved in an accident with a truck on December 31, 1976. This happened near the Military Hospital at Abohar. Bimla Rani was proceeding towards the Military Hospital and had turned to go into it when a truck came from behind and hit into her. She was immediately removed to the hospital, but died soon thereafter.

(2.) IT was the finding of the Tribunal that this was a case of contributory negligence and that the deceased Bimla Rani was more to blame for the accident than the truck driver. The negligence was consequently apportioned at 75 percent as that of Bimla Rani 25 per cent of the truck driver. As has been mentioned above, the amount awarded as compensation to Parbati, the mother of Bimla Rani deceased was Rs. 20,000/-

(3.) BIMLA Rani deceased was only about 28 years of age at the time of her death. She was employed as a nurse at the hospital at a salary of Rs. 330/-per month. She was unmarried. The claimant, her mother Parbati, was 70 years of age at that time. It was her statement that she was wholly dependant upon the deceased. It has been stated at the Bar that the claimant is still alive and in good health. This is an important factor to be borne in mind in assessing the compensation payable to the claimant in this case. As has now been settled by Full Bench of this Court, compensation payable to claimants must be in keeping with the relevant factors as spelt out in Lachman Singh v. Gurmit Kaur 1979 PLR 1. Considering the circumstances of the claimant and the deceased and the fact that the claimant was wholly dependant upon the deceased and that it was the deceased on whose income the house-hold ran, it would be reasonable to take the loss at Rs. 200/- per month. Ten deserves to be taken as the appropriate multiplier here, bearing in mind the fact that the claimant even after 8 years of the accident is still alive. On this basis after making allowance of the contributory negligence to the deceased, the amount payable to the claimant would work out to be Rs. 12,000/-. If this amount is now to be awarded to the claimant along with interest at the usual rate of 12 percent per annum; from the date of the application to the date of the payment of the amount awarded, it would work out to a figure than the compensation already awarded. In this view of the matter the amount awarded as compensation to the claimant warrants no interference in appeal.