KAMLESH Vs. RAJ KUMAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal by Kamlesh and Ram Bhajan, parents of the deceased. Seema, unmarried daughter of the appellants, who died in a motor accident on 30.1.1996. A claim petition under section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 was filed by the parents of the deceased against the owner and driver of the offending truck and also against the insurance company. The Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Faridabad ('the Tribunal'), after holding the driver of the truck liable for rash and negligent driving and the accident, awarded compensation of Rs. 50,000 to the parents of the deceased.

(2.) The deceased was aged 22 years at the time of the accident. The Tribunal took the view that the deceased being an unmarried girl, was not likely to support her parents after her marriage. Her income, if any, would have then diverted to the family of her husband.

(3.) Mr. R.K. Jain, learned counsel for the appellants, has argued that the compensation of Rs. 50,000 against the claim petition seeking compensation of Rs. 5,00,000 is wholly unsatisfactory and unjustified. It is not correct to assume that the deceased being of 22 years of age would not have supported her old parents after marriage. It was also possible that the girl would not have married. A suitable multiplier should have been adopted to calculate the amount of compensation on the basis of the annual dependency of the parents on the deceased. It was not at all appropriate to allow a lump sum amount of Rs. 50,000 without looking to the dependency of the parents on the deceased and her own age. The eceased was working in Glazy Instruments (P) Ltd. and was earning Rs. 1,600 per month as salary.