THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE GHULAM MOHAMMED C.M.A. No.4432 of 2004 ORDER: This appeal by the insurance company is directed against the judgment dated 30.06.2004 passed by the Motor Vehicle Accidents Claims Tribunal, Warangal, in O.P.No.1189 of 2001, whereby the claim petition of respondent Nos.1 to 4 herein was allowed in part by awarding a compensation of Rs.5,15,000/-. Brief facts of the case are that on 18.10.2001 at about 5.30 a.m. on the main road leading from Wardhannapet to Warangal near Punnel Village cross road, when Gadwala Bixapathi was travelling in an auto bearing No.AP 36 U 7418 from Panthini Village to go to Warangal along with Bangaru Vishnu and Bangaru Padma, one transport lorry bearing No.AP 16 T 688 coming from Warangal side i.e., in the opposite direction to the auto, being driven by the driver in a rash and negligent manner with high speed in the wrong side, dashed against the auto, due to which the auto turned turtle, as a result, the said Bixapathi received serious injuries and succumbed to injuries. Therefore, the legal representatives of the deceased filed the claim petition before the Tribunal claiming a compensation of Rs.5,50,000/- for the death of the deceased. To prove their claim, the claimants examined P.Ws.1 and 2 and marked Exs.A-1 to A-8 i.e., F.I.R. in Crime No.151 of 2001, inquest report, postmortem report, Motor Vehicle Inspector’s report, charge sheet in the crime, minimum wage board proceedings, driving licence and the insurance cover note. The insurance company marked no evidence. The Tribunal, after considering the facts and circumstances of the case and the evidence on record, observed that the accident occurred due to the rash and negligent driving of the driver of the lorry and because of the accident only, the deceased died and therefore, the claimants are entitled for compensation. Since the deceased was aged 25 years and was a skilled worker, the Tribunal arrived at his income at Rs.133/- per day against the claim of Rs.150/- per day and the same comes to Rs.41,500/- per annum and after deducting 1/3rd towards self contribution, it comes to an amount of Rs.27,667/- per annum towards contribution to the family. Considering the age of the deceased, the Tribunal adopted multiplier ‘17.5’. Accordingly, the loss of earnings and dependency was arrived at Rs.4,84,000/-. The Tribunal awarded further sums of Rs.15,000/- towards consortium, Rs.10,000/- towards loss of estate and love and affection, Rs.5,000/- towards funeral expenses and Rs.1,000/- towards transportation. In total, the Tribunal awarded a compensation of Rs.5,15,000/- with interest at 9% per annum from the date of petition till the date of realization. A perusal of the judgment of the Tribunal shows that the Tribunal considered all the aspects in a detailed and proper manner. Therefore, I do not see any infirmity in the judgment of the Tribunal while awarding compensation as referred to above. However, as rightly pointed out by the learned counsel for the appellant insurance company, in view of the catena of decisions of the Apex Court, interest awarded by the Tribunal has to be reduced to 7% per annum. Accordingly, the C.M.A. is partly allowed reducing the interest awarded by the Tribunal from 9% to 7% per annum. In all other respects, the judgment of the Tribunal shall remain intact. No costs. _______________________ GHULAM MOHAMMED, J 29th July, 2010 GHN