F. A. O. No. 322 of 2009 (O&M) 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH. Case No. : F. A. O. No. 322 of 2009 (O&M) Date of Decision : April 30, 2009 Pushpa and others .... Appellants Vs. Kailash Patti Cotton Mill Pvt. Ltd., Siwani .... Respondent CORAM : HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE L. N. MITTAL * * * Present : Mr. Amit Singla, Advocate for the appellants. * * * L. N. MITTAL, J. (Oral) : C. M. No. 1310-C-II of 2009 : For the reasons mentioned in the application, which is accompanied by affidavit, delay of 282 days in re-filing the appeal is condoned. Main Appeal : This is appeal by claimants for enhancement of compensation awarded by learned Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Hisar vide impugned Award dated 26.09.2007 for the death of Hawa Singh caused in a motor vehicular accident. Claimant no. 1, while appearing in the witness-box, stated that the deceased was employed in the respondent Mill at Siwani getting salary F. A. O. No. 322 of 2009 (O&M) 2 of Rs.3,000/- per month. She further stated that the deceased had taken a room on rent at Siwani for his own residence @ Rs.1,000/- per month. She has also stated that the deceased used to give Rs.1,000/- to Rs.1,200/- per month out of his income. The learned Tribunal accordingly assessed dependency at Rs.1,200/- per month and applied multiplier of 17 for the deceased aged 29 years. Learned counsel for the appellants contended that the statement of claimant no.1 that the deceased used to pay Rs.1,000/- to Rs.1,200/- per month means that the deceased used to spend said amount on himself. The contention is completely misconceived because the deceased was paying rent of Rs.1,000/- per month for his residential room and therefore, it cannot be said that he used to spend only Rs.1,000/- to Rs.1,200/- on himself. On the other hand, claimant no.1 stated that the deceased used to pay Rs.1,000/- to Rs.1,200/- per month and by no stretch, it could mean that the deceased used to pay the said amount to himself. Obviously, claimant no.1 stated that the deceased used to pay the said amount to the appellants. Even otherwise, out of the remaining salary of Rs.2,000/- per month, after paying rent of Rs.1,000/- per month for the residential room, the deceased would have been spending Rs.800/- per month on himself, which cannot be said to be excessive. It may be added that village of claimants is 60 to 70 kilometers from Siwani, as stated by claimant no.1 herself. The Tribunal has taken the higher amount of Rs.1,200/- per month from the statement of claimant no.1 and has computed the compensation amount accordingly. No fault can therefore be found with the computation of compensation by the Tribunal. Learned counsel for the appellants also half-heartedly contended that multiplier of 17 is inadequate. The contention is without merit because multiplier of 17 cannot be said to be inadequate by any standards. It was lastly contended that a sum of Rs.5,000/- only has been awarded for funeral expenses and loss of consortium and estate. However, F. A. O. No. 322 of 2009 (O&M) 3 even if it may be said that a couple of thousands more could be awarded, the appeal cannot be entertained for the same. On the other hand, the interest amount on compensation amount awarded by the Tribunal would be much more than the dependency determined by the Tribunal. In view of the aforesaid, finding no merit in the instant appeal, the same is hereby dismissed. April 30, 2009 ( L. N. MITTAL ) monika JUDGE