FAO No. 4255 of 2009 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA, CHANDIGARH FAO No. 4255 of 2009 Date of decision September 8, 2010 Rashidan and another ....... Appellants Versus Harvinder Singh and others ........ Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE K. KANNAN Present:- Ms. Ekta Thakur, Advocate for the appellants. Mr. Vinod Gupta, Advocate for the Insurance Company. **** K. Kannan, J (oral). 1. The appeal is by the claimant for enhancement in a case of death of a person aged 42 years at the instance of the wife and son. The insurance policy was said to be fake. The Insurance Company was exonerated. The owner and the driver have been served but they have not cared to put in appearance. The grievance of the appellants is that admittedly at the time of the accident there was fish being transported in the vehicle. Though no documentary proof of evidence for the income, the Tribunal took that Rs.3,000/- per month. Learned counsel for the claimants would state that claimant's husband was earning more than 6,000/- per month. Learned counsel for the claimants would also contend that the deceased was a fish dealer and must have been provided for an amount in excess of a manual worker. Although, she was not in a position to furnish any documentary proof, taking the income to be Rs.3500/-, I would accommodate the plea on behalf of the claimants that the appropriate multiplier should be 14 for a person aged 42 years and not 12 FAO No. 4255 of 2009 2 as the Tribunal adopted. To rework the compensation, I would take the contribution to the family to be 2/3rd and that would mean the annual dependency of Rs.28,000/-. If a multiplier of 14 is adopted, the compensation payable would be Rs.3,92,000/-. I would add a further sum of Rs.8,000/- towards loss of consortium and make a further addition of Rs.5,000/- towards loss of estate and Rs.2,500/- towards funeral expenses, making in all, the compensation of Rs.4,07,500/-. The Tribunal has already granted compensation of Rs.2,98,000/- and the amount in excess shall attract interest at the rate of 6% per annum from the date of the petition till the date of payment. 2. Having regard to the fact that the accident had taken place five years earlier, I would direct that the appellant shall the entitled to withdraw up to 50% of the entire amount immediately and the remaining amount shall be kept in a Bank deposit for a period of five years. The amount shall be split in five equal moieties and the first moiety shall be held for a term of one year, the second for a period of two years and so on up to 5 years and the amounts shall be paid to the claimants at the respective dates of maturity. The appeal is allowed to the above extent. (K. KANNAN) JUDGE September 8, 2010 archana