FAO No.640 of 1996 -1- IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH FAO No. 640 of 1996 Date of decision: March 17, 2009 Bimla Devi and others …..APPELLANTS Versus Pepsu Road Transport Corporation, Patiala and another …..RESPONDENTS CORAM: HON’BLE MR JUSTICE T.P.S.MANN PRESENT: Mr J.S.Chaudhary, Sr Advocate with Mr S.M.Verma, Advocate for the appellants. Mr P.S.Brar, Advocate for respondent No.1. T.P.S.MANN, J. The petition filed by the claimants under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) for claiming compensation in respect of death of Rajinder Kumar was accepted by learned Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Ludhiana on 3.8.1995 and they were awarded an amount of Rs.4,00,000/- as compensation, to be paid by both the respondents. The claimants were also held entitled to interest at the rate of 12% per annum on the amount of compensation from the date of the claim petition till realization of the same. Pleading that they had been awarded inadequate compensation, FAO No.640 of 1996 -2- the claimants preferred the present appeal under Section 173 of the Act. According to the claimants, on 29.6.1993 at about 3.00 PM deceased-Rajinder Kumar was travelling in Bus No. PB-11A-9221 of respondent No.1-Corporation and driven by Gurdev Singh-respondent No.2 from Mandi Gobindgarh to Ludhiana. When the bus reached in the area of Giaspura Chowk, G.T.Road, Ludhiana, the deceased requested the Conductor of the bus that he wanted to get down from the bus and therefore, it be stopped. The conductor blew the whistle and the driver stopped the bus. When the deceased was getting down, the driver of the bus started it all of a sudden. The deceased fell down and received multiple injuries on his body, as a result of which he died. As the accident had taken place due to the rash and negligent driving of the bus by its driver, the respondent Corporation, who was owner of the bus, was liable to pay the compensation to the claimants, who were mother, father and widow, respectively of the deceased, as all of them were dependent upon him. They prayed for granting them an amount of Rs. 10,00,000/- as compensation. The claim petition was opposed by the respondents. According to them, the accident did not take place due to the rash and negligent driving of the bus, rather it was the deceased, who was trying to get down from the moving bus, without informing its driver or the conductor. The bus was moving slowly since some tractor-trolley was crossing the road. The deceased fell down on the road since he tried to alight from the moving bus. They, accordingly, prayed for dismissal of the claim petition. After perusing the evidence and hearing learned counsel for FAO No.640 of 1996 -3- the parties, learned Tribunal held that the death of Rajinder Kumar was on account of rash and negligent act of the bus driver. As the deceased was earning Rs.5,000/- per month and was only 28 years of age at the time of his death, the dependency was calculated as Rs.2,500/- per month and the multiplier of '17' was applied. Though the amount of compensation came to Rs.5,10,000/-, yet keeping in view the fact that the deceased did not leave behind any child, only an amount of Rs.4,00,000/- was granted as compensation, which according to learned Tribunal was quite reasonable. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record. On the basis of evidence available on the file, it stands established that the deceased was getting salary of Rs.4,000/- per month from a firm, known as M/s Presto Steel Company, by working as an Accountant, besides getting another amount of Rs.1,000/- per month by working as a part time Accountant with M/s Jagatjit Steel Company. Thus, his monthly income was Rs.5,000/-. At the time of his death, the family of the deceased consisted of his wife, mother and father. The deceased's wife Bindu Bala was also pregnant and she delivered a male child, named, Rishu on 11.1.1994. Minor Rishu has already been brought on record as one of the claimants in the present appeal, pursuant to order dated 11.10.1996. In such a situation, only 1/4th could be deducted from the earning capacity of the deceased towards his personal expenses and not ½ (one half), as has been done by the learned Tribunal. Moreover, as the deceased was 28 years of age at the time of his death, the appropriate multiplier to be applied in the case was '18' and not '17' in FAO No.640 of 1996 -4- view of the Schedule attached to the Act. Moreover, learned Tribunal did not grant any compensation to the claimants towards funeral expenses and loss of consortium. In view of the above, the dependency of the claimants works out to be Rs.3,750/- per month and by applying, the multiplier of '18', the compensation comes to Rs.8,10,000/-. Besides, Rs.5,000/- is to be granted towards funeral expenses and Rs.5,000/- towards loss of consortium, payable to the widow. The claimants are also entitled to get interest at the rate of 9% per annum on the enhanced amount from the date of filing of the claim petition till the payment of the same. While passing the impugned award, learned Tribunal had granted an amount of Rs.60,000/- to the mother and Rs.40,000/- to the father of the deceased as compensation, out of the total amount of Rs.4,00,000/- awarded as compensation, As the parents of the deceased have already been well compensated, the remaining amount, including the enhanced amount of the compensation is, thus, required to be paid to Bindu Bala, wife and Rishu-minor son of Rajinder Kumar-deceased in equal shares. As Rishu, who was born on 11.1.1994, is still a minor, being 15 years and 3 months of age as of now, his share is required to be deposited in a nationalized bank in fixed deposit, to be paid to him on attaining the age of majority. Accordingly, the amount of Rs.4,00,000/- as awarded by learned Tribunal is enhanced to Rs.8,20,000/- alongwith interest at the rate of 9% per annum on the enhanced amount from the date of filing the claim petition till the payment. The enhanced amount of compensation shall be shared by Bindu Bala and Rishu-appellants in equal shares. The FAO No.640 of 1996 -5- share of minor Rishu shall be deposited by the learned Tribunal in a nationlized bank in fixed deposit, to be paid to him on attaining the age of majority. The respondents are directed to make the payment within three months from today. The appeal is disposed of as mentioned above. No order as to costs. March 17, 2009 (T.P.S.MANN) Pds. JUDGE