ALAM DIN Vs. SHAHNAZ AKHTER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The short controversy involved in the present Civil First Miscellaneous Appeal relates to apportionment of compensation assessing by Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Jammu in claim petitions No. 276/2001 and 134/2002 amongst the dependents of the victim of accident.

(2.) Shri Showket Ali alias Showkat S/o Alam Din, R/o Nakka Manjhari Tehsil Mendhar, District Poonch on 27th June, 2001 met a fatal accident at Chowki Choura, Akhnoor. The widow of the deceased and his two children filed a claim petition registered as No. 276/2001 before Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Jammu. The petitioners in all claimed a compensation of Rs. 69,10,000/- from Oriental Insurance Company with which the offending vehicle was registered. The petitioners, however, did not implead parents and siblings of the deceased as co-claimants or proforma respondents. The parents of petitioner filed a separate claim petition registered as 134/2002 and prayed for a (compensation of Rs. 69,15,000/-. The petitioners in both the claim petitions pleaded that they were dependents on the deceased and had no source to fall back upon as the deceased working as Mason in Saudi Arabia was only bread earner for the family. The Tribunal took up both the claim petitions together and disposed of two petitions vide award dated 26th December, 2009. The Tribunal awarded a total amount of Rs. 7,66,000/- out of Rs. 30,000/- each to be paid to the parents and Rs. 25,000/- each to the siblings. The widow of the deceased was held entitled to receive Rs. 4,25,000/- and two children of the deceased Rs. 1.00 lac each.

(3.) The parents and siblings of the deceased are aggrieved with the apportionment of the amount awarded by the Tribunal. The appellants 1 and 2 plead that they are in old age and were exclusively dependent on the amount remitted by the deceased from Saudi Arabia where he was working as Mason. It is urged that the appellants have been virtually brought to the road side by untimely and tragic death of their son and have no source of income to take care of their day to day expenses as also the expenses incurred on account of medical treatment. It is pleaded that untimely death of their brother has also pushed sisters of the deceased to acute poverty and deprivation. The appellants insist that a amount of Rs. 25,000-30,000/-is too meagre as against Rs. 4,25,000/- awarded to the widow of the deceased. The appellants pray for apportionment of award amount in equal shares to appellants i.e. parents and siblings of the deceased and his widow and children. The appellants in other words pray that the award amount of Rs. 7,60,000/- be equally divided and half bit i.e. Rs. 3,80,000/- directed to be paid to the appellants and rest of the amount i.e. Rs. 3,80,000/- directed to be paid to widow and children of the deceased who have been awarded amount of Rs. 6,25,000/-.