HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT B1LASPUR DIVISION BENCH CORAM: HON'BLE SHRI RAJEEV GUPTA, C.J. & HON'BLE SHRI RANGNATH CHANDRAKAR, J. ApeellaRts Misc. Appeal (C) No. 66 of 2009 1 Kumari Kiran, d/o Ramkrishna Mahant, aged about 8 years 2 Kumari Jyoti, D/o Ramkrishna Mahant, aged about 6 years 3 Roopnarayan, S/o Ramkrishna Mahant, aged about 4 years No.1 to 3 minors, through natural guardian father Ramkrishna Mahant, S/o Kapildas Mahant, R/o Village - Ghana Dabari, Tahsil Katghora, District Korba (CG) 4 Ramkrishna Mahant, aged about 32 years, s/o Kapildas Mahant, R/o Ghanadabari, Post Padaniya, Tahsil - Katghora, District Korba (CG) VERSUS Respondents 1 Shivmurat Singh, aged about 309 yearsS/o Ramnaresh Singh, R/o KC Camp, Kusmunda, PS Kusmunda, District Korba (CG) 2 Dharamveer, aged about 59 years, S/o Subsingh R/o Gevra Project, Gevra, District Korba (CG) 3 Manager, Bajaj Alliance General Insurance Company Limited, Shivmohan Building Vidhansabha Road, Pandri, Raipur, District Raipur (CG) Aopeal under Sectjon 173 ofjthe Motor Vehicle Act. 1988 ,,<yc'r,i ^7~~ '^' ^,...// --c<' Present: Shri Rakesh Sahu, counsel for the appellants. ORDER (06th July, 2011) The following order of the Court was passed by Rajeev Gupta, C.J. Shri Rakesh Sahu, learned counsel for the appellants is heard on admission. 2) The appellants/ claimants, unfortunate husband and minor children of deceased Durga Mahant, are seeking enhancement of the compensation awarded by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Katghora, district Korba (for short 'the Tribunal') vide award dated 10.11.2008, passed in Claim Case No.337/2007. 3) As against the compensation of Rs.27,37,000/- claimed by the appellants/claimants, unfortunate husband and minor children of deceased Durga Mahant, by filing a claim petition under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, for her death and the death of her child in the womb, in the motor accident on 30.11.2006, the Tribunal awarded a total sum of Rs.3,51,000/- and Rs.30,000/-, respectively as compensation along with interest @ 8% per annum from the date of filing of the claim petition till the date of actual payment. 4) The Tribunal on a close scrutiny of the entire evidence led before it held the insurerof the offending vehicle Truck bearing registration No.CG-12C/1152 liable to pay compensation to the claimants. The Tribunal assessed theincome ofthe deceased at Rs.3,000/- per month and Rs.36,000/- per annum. By deducting 50% of Rs.36,000/- towards the personal expenses of the deceased, the claimants' dependency was assessed at Rs. 18.000/- per annum. By multiplying the annual dependency of Rs.18,000/- with the multiplier of 18, the compensation was worked out to Rs.3,24,000/-. By awarding further sum of Rs.27,000/- under other heads, the Tribunal awarded a total sum of Rs.3,51,000/- as compensation to the claimants for the death of deceased Durga Mahant in the motor accident. The Tribunal further awarded lump-sum of Rs.30,000/- for the death of the child in the womb of Durga Mahant. The Tribunal further directed payment of interest on the above amounts of compensation@ 8% per annum from the date offiling ofthe claim petition till the date of actual payment. 5) Shri Rakesh Sahu, learned counsel for the appellants vehemently argued that the Tribunal has erred inawarding low compensation of Rs.3,51,000/- only for the death of deceased Durga Mahant. 6) Claimant No.4 Ramkrishna Mahant, husband of deceased Durga Mahant categorically admitted in para 10 of his statement before the Tribunal that his wife Durga Mahant was not having any independent income of her own and she was household lady. We, therefore, do not find any fault in the assessment of the notional income ofthe deceased by the Tribunal at Rs.3,000/- per month and Rs.36,000/- per annum. "SSSBifite. 1 —*--•"'" ^~' ;•& 7) The multiplier of 18 selected by the Tribunal is rather on the higher side as claimant No.4 Ramkrishna Mahant, husband of the deceased admittedly was aged about 32 years on the date of the accident and the recent dictum of the Apex Court in the case of Sarla Verma (Smt) and Others Versus Delhi Transport Corporation and another, reported in (2009) 6 SCC 121 prescribes the multiplier of 16 for the age group between 31-35 years. 8) Even otherwise, the compensation of Rs.3,51,000/- awarded by the Tribunal for the death of deceased Durga Mahant in the motor accident cannot be termed as inadequate so as to warrant enhancement in this appeal. 9) As we do not find any scope for enhancement of the compensation awarded by the Tribunal, the appeal filed by the appellants/ claimants for enhancement of the compensation fails and is hereby dismissed summarily. -—— Sd/- ChiefJustice Sd/- R.N. Chandrakar Judge subbu 1