NEW INDIA ASSURANCE COMPANY Vs. MAMTA GARG

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS petition is directed against the award dated 1.10.2004 passed by the learned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Solan. The brief facts necessary for the adjudication of this petition are that the claim petition under section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 for the grant of compensation on account of death of Vinod Garg age 51 years was filed by the claimants No. 1 to 4 before the Tribunal being the Assistant Accounts Officer in the H.P. State Electronics Development Corporation Limited and was drawing Rs. 17,000/- per month as salary besides having rental income of Rs. 3,000/- per month. Sh. Vinod Garg died on 26.12.2003 due to the rash and negligent driving of the driver Sh. Vidya Sagar. The learned MACT had framed the following issues:

(2.) THE Tribunal had awarded a sum of Rs. 13,18,260/- to the claimants with costs and interest @ 9% per annum from the date of the petition to the date of deposit. Mr. K.D. Sood, Advocate appearing on behalf of the petitioner had strenuously argued that the award of Rs. 13,18,260/- is exorbitant and the learned Tribunal had divided the income of Shri Vinod Garg i.e. Rs. 7000/- and Rs. 5515/- and separate multipliers of 10 and 7 had been applied.

(3.) IT is admitted fact that the income of the deceased Shri Vinod Kumar Garg was about Rs. 17,000/- per month which is treated to be his gross income. From this, his personal living expenses are to be deducted and normally it has to be the 1/3rd of the gross income. Thereafter the loss of dependency is to be capitalized with appropriate multiplier. In the present case this Court can take Rs. 12,000/- per month or Rs. 1,44,000/- per year as loss of dependency and thereafter if capitalized multiplier of 11 on the basis of structured formula framed under section 163-A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, is worked out, the compensation will be Rs. 1,44,000 x 11 =15,84,000/- to which the usual award for loss of consortium and loss of the estate each in the conventional charges sum of Rs. 15,000/- is to be added.