^ HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR DIVISION BENCH CORAM: HON'BLE SHRI RAJEEV GUPTA, C.J. & HON'BLE SHRI RANGNATH CHANDRAKAR, J. Appellants ^MiV' Misc. Appeal (C) No. 612 of 2007 1. Smt. Hembai Jaiswal, aged about 55 years, wd/o late Mehattar Jaiswal. 2. Paluram Jaiswal, aged about 32 years, s/o late Shri Mehattar Jaiswal. 3. Ku. Seema Jaiswal, aged about 10 years, d/o Shri Paluram Jaiswal, No,3 minor through natural guardian father Paluram Jaiswal appellant No.2. All residents of village and Post Paterapali, P.S. & Tahsil Saraipali, distt. Mahasamund C.G. Respondents VERSUS Ramcharan Ogare, aged about 28 years, s/o Shri Rambishal Ogare, r/o Village Basin, P.S. Rajim, district Raipur C.G. t: Bajaj Alliance General Insurance Company Limited, through Divisional Manager, Bajaj Alliance General Insurance Company Limited, Shiv Mohan Bhawan Vidhan Sabha Road Raipur Tahsil and District Raipur C.G. MISC. APPEAL UNDER SECTION 173 OF THE MOTOR VEHICLES ACT. 1988. Present: S(^ri R. Pradhan and Ms. Shashi Baret, counsel for the.appellants. Shri'3.C. Verma, counsel for respondent No.1. Shri S.S. Rajput, counsel for respondent No.2. ^2 ORDER (27th April, 2011) The following order of the Court was passed by Rajeev Gupta, C.J. This is claimants' appeal for enhancement of the compensation awarded by the Motor Accident Claim$ Tribunal, Mahasamund (for short 'the Tribunal') vide award dated 06.02.2007, passed in Claim Case No. 112/2006. 2) As against the compensation of Rs.30,25,000/- claimed by the appellants/ claimants, unfortunate mother, brother and niece of deceased Loknath Jaiswal, by filing a claim petition under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act for his death in the motor accident on 26.01.2006, the Tribunal awarded a total sum of Rs.2,01,920/- as compensation along with interest @ 6% per annum from the date'of filing of the claim petition till the date of actual payment. 3) Shri R. Pradhan and Ms. Shashi Baret, learned counsel for the appellants vehemently argued that the Tribunal has erred in selecting the lower multiplier of 10; in not awarding any sum towards funeral expenses and loss of estate; and in awarding low compensation of Rs.2,01,920/- only. 4) Shri S.S. Rajput, learned counsel for respondent No.2, Bajaj Alliance (Seneral Insurance Company Limited, the insurer of the offending ve^hicle Motorcycle, on the other hand supported the ' \ ". award and contended that the compehsation of Rs.2,01,920/- j J \^^ "i^^-'r^ "vh^... fy" ..^-^' '"^•^^F^ awarded by the Tribunal is just and proper compensation in the facts and circumstances of the present case. 5) Shri S.C. Verma, learned counsel for respondent No.1, Ramcharan Ogare, the owner-cum-driver of the Motorcycle also supported theaward. 6) The claimants cannot have any legitimate grievance about the assessment of the income of the deceased by the Tribunal at Rs.2,524/- per month and Rs.30,288/- per annum as the salary certificate produced by the claimants before the Tribunal was to that effect only. 7) The Tribunal has been quite liberal in deducting only 1/3 of the income of the deceased towards his personal expenses, though the deduction in that behalf could have been to the extent of 50% of the income of the deceased, in view of the dictum of the Apex Court in the case of Syed Basheer Ahamed and others Versus Mohammed Jameel and another reported in (2009) 2 Supreme Court Cases 225. 8) The multiplier of 10 selected by the Tribunal considering that claimant No.1 Smt. Hembai Jaiswal, mother ofthe deceased was aged about 55 years cannot be found fault with. 9) Nevertheless, the Tribunal has certainly fallen into error in not awarding any sum towards funeral expenses and loss of estate. ,\ 10) We, therefore, awarded Rs.5,000/- towards funeral '\ expenses and Rs.5,000/- for loss of estate. We, further award '.A v';^. ^/ ^ padma ^^ ^ Rs.1,000/- as quantified amount of interest on the above enhanced amount of Rs.10,000/-. 11) For the foregoing reasons, the appeal filed by the appellants/ claimants for enhancement of the compensation is allowed in part. The claimants are awarded further sum of Rs.10,000/- towards funeral expenses and loss of estate and Rs.1,0007- towards quantified amount of interest on the enhanced amount of compensation of Rs.10,000/- in addition to the sum of Rs.2,01,920/- awarded by the Tribunal. 12) Respondent No.2 Bajaj Alliance General Insurance Company Limited is granted three months' time for depositing the total sum of Rs.11 ,000/- before the concerning Claims Tribunal. 13)_J^p_order as to costs. Sd/- Chief Justice Sd/- R.N. Chandrakar Judge \