Letters Patent Appeal No.1550 of 2000 with Letters Patent Appeal No.1551 of 2000 ------- Against the judgment and order dated 22.9.2000 passed by a learned Single Judge of this Court in Misc.Appeal Nos.440 and 442 of 1998. --------- SURENDRA MOHAN THAKUR & ORS…………………..Appellants (in both appeals) Versus SUNIL KUMAR AGRAWAL & Anr………………………..Respondents (in both appeals) ---------- For the Appellants : Mr. Sarangdhar Jha,Advocate ----------- P R E S E N T THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE BARIN GHOSH THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE JAYANANDAN SINGH ………………… Barin Ghosh & J.N.Singh, JJ. : Notice of appeal has been served upon respondent nos.1 and 2 but they have not bothered to enter appearance. 2. By reason of a motor vehicle accident occurred on 11th April, 1997, appellant no.1 lost his wife and one of his daughters and remaining appellants lost their mother and one of their sisters. For the reason of two such deaths, the appellants filed two separate claim cases. During the - 2 - pendency of the claim cases interim compensation of Rs.50,000/- each was awarded under Section 140 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (hereinafter referred to as `the Act’). The appellants tried to prove that one of the deceased was earning a sum of Rs.2,000/- (rupees two thousand) per month and the other a sum of Rs.1,000/-(rupees one thousand) per month from tailoring business. The assertions to that effect were not accepted by the Tribunal. The Tribunal held that none of the deceased had any independent income. It further held that one of them was a pure and simple house wife and the other was a student. On the basis thereof, the Tribunal granted compensation of Rs.25,000/- for each of such deaths. The Tribunal in addition directed payment of funeral expenses of Rs.2,000/- for both of them and rupees five thousand by way of loss of consortium to the appellant no.1 for the death of his wife with interest at the rate of 12% from the date of filing of the claim cases till payment. The Tribunal, however, clarified that no recovery can be made from the appellants out of the - 3 - interim compensation of Rs.50,000/- awarded under Section 140 of the Act. The appeals preferred against the said awards of the Tribunal having been dismissed, the appellants are before us. 3. As the appellate court had no scope to infer from the evidence that any of the deceased ladies had any independent income, we also have no scope to infer the same. However, a meaningful reading of Section 140 of the Act would amply demonstrate that a death occasioned by a motor vehicle accident would result in payment of compensation of at least Rs.50,000/-. That being the situation, compensation payable under the Act for a death caused by a motor vehicle accident cannot be less than Rs.50,000/-. 4. We, therefore, modify the awards of the Tribunal and enhance the amount of compensation from Rs.25,000/-(twenty five thousand) to Rs.50,000/-(fifty thousand) for each of the deaths and in each of the cases. 5. The Tribunal although has awarded compensation for funeral expenses and - 4 - compensation for loss of the consortium in terms of the provisions contained in Schedule-II to the Act, but has not awarded compensation for loss of estate as provided therein. We, therefore, enhance the amount of compensation as awarded by the Tribunal in modification thereof by the amount of compensation for loss of estate to the tune of Rs.2,500/-(two thousand five hundred) in each cases. 6. The awards stand modified to the extent as above and to that extent both these appeals are allowed. ( Barin Ghosh, J. ) ( Jayanandan Singh, J. ) Patna High Court Dated 2nd July, 2008 A.H./N A F R