FAO No. 4621 of 2009 -1- IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH FAO No. 4621 of 2009 (O&M) Date of decision : 1.4.2010 ... Smt. Savitri Devi and others ................Appellants vs. Ranbir Singh and others .................Respondents Coram: Hon'ble Mr. Justice K.C. Puri Present: Sh. R.S. Mamli, Advocate for the appellants Sh. R.C. Gupta, Advocate for respondent No.3-Insurance company. ... K.C. Puri, J. (Oral) There is a delay of 77 days in filing the present appeal. The same stands condoned on the grounds mentioned in the application. This is an appeal directed by widow, two daughters and son of Dharamvir, claiming compensation on account of death of Dharamvir in a motor vehicular accident. Learned Tribunal accepted the claim petition and granted an amount of Rs.2,64,000/- as compensation and another amount of Rs.10,000/- was granted on account of transportation and last rites of deceased. The Tribunal has taken the income of the deceased as Rs.3,000/- per month. The dependency was taken as Rs.2,000/- per month after imposing the cut of 1/3rd on account of personal expenses FAO No. 4621 of 2009 -2- of the deceased and yearly dependency was taken as Rs.24,000/- per year ( 2000 X 12). The age of the deceased was assessed as 37 years and multiplier of 11 was applied. In this manner, the amount was calculated as Rs.2,64,000/- (24000 X 11). Feeling dissatisfied with the above said award, the appellants have preferred the present appeal for enhancement of compensation. Learned counsel for the appellants has relied upon the authority reported as Smt. Sarla Verma and others vs. Delhi Transport Corporation and another 2009(3) RCR (Civil) 77 and on the strength of the same, it is argued that since the claimants are 4 in number, so the cut in respect of personal expenses of the deceased should be ¼ and multiplier of 15 should be applied in view of said ruling. Learned counsel for the Insurance company has supported the judgment of the Tribunal and has opposed the prayer. I have considered the submissions made by both the sides and have also gone through the record of the case. The argument advanced by the counsel for the appellants carried weight and has to be accepted in view of Smt. Sarla Verma's case (Supra). In this case, the income of the deceased has been taken as Rs.3,000/- per month and the same has not been challenged. So, taking the income of the deceased as Rs.3,000/- per month, cut imposed should be of 1/4th as there are 4 dependents. So, in this manner, the monthly dependency comes to Rs.2,250/- per month and the yearly dependency comes to Rs.27,000/-. The multiplier as per Smt. Sarla Verma's case (Supra) for the persons in FAO No. 4621 of 2009 -3- the age group of 36 to 40 should be 15. So, by applying that multiplier, the amount is calculated as Rs.4,05,000/- ( 27,000 X 15). The Tribunal has allowed an amount of Rs.10,000/- on account of transportation and last rites of the deceased. Another sum of Rs.10,000/- stands allowed on account of loss of consortium and loss of estate. So, in this manner, the claimants are held entitled to claim Rs.4,25,000/-. So, the appeal stands partly accepted and the amount of compensation stands enhanced by Rs.1,51,000/-. Out of the said enhanced amount, Rs. 1 lac shall be paid to Smt. Savitri Devi widow and the remaining amount shall be paid to the remaining respondents in equal share. The enhanced amount of compensation shall also carry interest @ 7% per annum from the date of appeal till payment. The liability to pay the enhanced amount shall be the same as ordered by the Tribunal. The appeal stands disposed of. ( K.C. Puri ) 1.4.2010 Judge chugh