SURINDER KAUR Vs. M/S. SHIVALIK AGRO AGENCIES

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal by claimants for enhancement of compensation in a case of death of a 32 year old accident victim who died due to injury sustained in the motor accident. The award dated May 04, 2000 passed by the learned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Rupnagar is assailed on the ground that it give inadequate compensation. The Tribunal had applied the multiplier of 12 in assessing dependency of the claimants. Deceased Major Singh was working as a driver in Doha, Qatar since 1985. He maintained an NRI bank account in Khanna, Panjab in Canara Bank. Kalyan Singh, Clerk in Canara Bank, Khanna, District Ludhiana while appearing as PW-2 deposed that late Major Singh had remitted from time to time an amount totalling Rs. 5,52,600/- in his account for the period January 31, 1994 to March 16, 1998. This means that he must have kept a substantial amount to maintain himself in an expensive country. These amounts were deposited in the shape of FDRs.

(2.) Late Major Singh's wife Surinder Kaur appeared in the witness box as PW-3 and deposed that he worked as a driver in Doha Qatar and held a driving licence Ex.P-10. She produced his identity card Ex.P-11. She deposed that her husband was earning Rs. 20,000/- per month of which he sent half the amount to meet household expenses and the remaining amount he remitted to his bank account as an investment for the future.

(3.) The death occurred on September 14, 1998 when he was on India visit to his village. Since the salary certificate was not produced on record showing actual income of the deceased the learned Tribunal arbitrarily assessed the monthly income at Rs. 2,000/- annualized to Rs. 24,000/- per year applied multiplier of 12 to compute the future dependency. This figure, to my mind, is an extremely conservative thinking of the learned Tribunal at Rupnagar. The Tribunal did not deal with the manifestations of the amount of Rs. 5,52,600/- remitted and spread over a period of 48 months and credited to his NRI account maintained in Canara Bank in Khanna, then it can safely be assumed that the monthly income of the deceased was at least Rs. 11,052/-.