FAO No.979 of 2011 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH FAO No.979 of 2011 Date of Decision : 14.11.2011 Bala Maini alias Madhu Bala Maini and others .......Appellant Versus Gurpreet Singh and others .......Respondents CORAM:- HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE JITENDRA CHAUHAN Present: Mr. K.B.S Mann, Advocate, for Mr. Vivek Goel, Advocate, for the appellants. Mr. Puneet Sharma, Advocate, for the respondent-Insurance Company. **** JITENDRA CHAUHAN, J. (ORAL) Heard. CM No.2615 of 2011 is allowed. Delay of 24 days in filing the appeal is condoned. The instant appeal has been preferred by the claimant- appellants, seeking enhancement in the amount of compensation awarded by the learned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Faridkot, vide Award dated 05.08.2010, on account of the death of Sh. Ravi Kumar Maini, since deceased, in a road accident which took place 09.03.2009. The short question involved in the present appeal for determination of this Court is whether the multiplier applied while assessing the compensation is correct. 1 FAO No.979 of 2011 A perusal of the income tax returns, Ex.A10 and A11, filed by the deceased shows that, his date of birth has been reflected as 28.04.1959. In the absence of any other definite proof, there is no scope for any guess work. So, the age of the deceased is taken to be 51 years instead of 50 years. The learned Tribunal has applied the multiplier of 10 in the instant case. However, as per the schedule provided in Smt. Sarla Verma and others Vs. Delhi Transport Corporation and another, 2009(3) RCR (Civil) 77, the multiplier of 11 deserves to be applied in the present case. It is ordered accordingly. The amount awarded under the various heads is just and reasonable and are not disturbed. The enhanced amount of dependency comes to `72,000/- which the respondents are liable to pay jointly and severally as held by the Tribunal. The enhanced amount of `72,000/- will be paid to the claimant-appellants within 45 days from the date of receipt of certified copy of this judgment. In case of default of payment within the prescribed time, the claimants shall be entitled to 7% p.a. interest from the date of filing this appeal, till its realization. Consequently, the present appeal is partly allowed and the Award of the learned Tribunal is modified to the extent indicated above. ( JITENDRA CHAUHAN ) 14.11.2011 JUDGE atulsethi Note: Whether to be referred to reporter ? Yes/No 2