FAO .No.738/2003 Page 1 of 5 17 *IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI + FAO.No.738/2003 Date of Decision: 9th March, 2010 % BHIM SEN KALIA & ORS. ..... Appellants Through : Mr. Navneet Goyal and Mr. Varun Kumar, Advs. versus NEW INDIA ASSURANCE CO.LTD.& ORS .... Respondents Through : Mr. Pankaj Seth, Adv. for R-1. CORAM :- THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE J.R. MIDHA 1. Whether Reporters of Local papers may YES be allowed to see the Judgment? 2. To be referred to the Reporter or not? YES 3. Whether the judgment should be YES reported in the Digest? JUDGMENT (Oral) 1. The appellants have challenged the award of the learned Tribunal whereby compensation of Rs.3,08,300/- has been awarded to them. The appellants seek enhancement of the award amount. 2. The accident dated 14th June, 1999 resulted in the death of Swaran Kalia. The deceased was survived by her husband and three minor children who filed the claim petition before the learned Tribunal. 3. The deceased was aged 48 years at the time of the accident and had qualified two years junior basic teachers course. The deceased was teaching tuitions and it was FAO .No.738/2003 Page 2 of 5 claimed that she was earning Rs.5,000/- to Rs.6,000/- per month at the time of the accident. In the absence of any documentary proof of income, the learned Tribunal took the income of the deceased to be Rs.3,000/- per month, added Rs.500/- towards future prospects, deducted 1/3rd towards personal expenses and applied the multiplier of 10 to compute the loss of dependency at Rs.2,82,000/-. Rs.10,000/- has been awarded towards loss of estate and consortium and Rs.16,266/- towards medical expenditure on treatment. The total compensation awarded is Rs.3,08,300/-. 4. The learned counsel for the appellants has urged the following grounds at the time of hearing of this appeal:- (i) The income of the deceased be computed according to the minimum wages and the increase in minimum wages due to inflation and rise in price index be taken into consideration. (ii) The personal expenses of the deceased be taken to be 1/4th instead of 1/3rd. (iii) The multiplier be enhanced from 10 to 13. (iv) The compensation be awarded for loss of love and affection and loss of estate. 5. Considering that there was no documentary proof of income, the proper course for the learned Tribunal was to take the minimum wages into consideration. The minimum wages for a graduate at the time of the accident was Rs.3,108/- which is taken into consideration. It is well settled FAO .No.738/2003 Page 3 of 5 by catena of judgments of this Court in the cases of Kanwar Devi vs. Bansal Roadways, 2008 ACJ 2182, National Insurance Company Limited vs. Renu Devi III (2008) ACC 134 and UPSRTC vs. Munni Devi, MAC.APP.No.310/2007 decided on 28.07.2008 that the Court should take judicial notice of increase in minimum wages to meet the increase in price index and inflation rate. The Court has taken the view that the minimum wages get doubled over the period of 10 years and increase in minimum wages is not akin to future prospects. Following the aforesaid judgments, the income of the deceased is taken to be Rs.4,662/- per month [(Rs.3,108 + Rs.6,216)/2]. 6. The deceased was aged 48 years at the time of the accident and was survived by her husband and three minor children. According to the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Sarla Verma Vs. Delhi Transport Corporation, 2009 (6) Scale 129, the appropriate multiplier at the age of 48 years is 13 and the appropriate deduction towards personal expenses is 1/4th. The multiplier is, therefore, enhanced from 10 to 13 and the personal expenses of the deceased are reduced from 1/3rd to 1/4th. 7. No compensation has been awarded by the Claims Tribunal towards loss of love and affection and loss of estate. Rs.5,000/- is awarded towards loss of love and affection and Rs.5,000/- is awarded towards loss of estate. FAO .No.738/2003 Page 4 of 5 8. The appellants are entitled to total compensation of Rs.5,81,720/- [(Rs.4,662 x 3/4 x 12 x 13) + Rs.10,000 + Rs.16,266 + Rs.5,000 + Rs.5,000]. 9. The appeal is allowed and the award amount is enhanced from Rs.3,08,300/- to Rs.5,81,720/-. The learned Tribunal has awarded interest @9% per annum which is not disturbed on the original award amount of Rs.3,08,300/-. However, on the enhanced award amount, the rate of interest shall be 7.5% per annum from the date of filing of the claim petition till notice of deposit under Order XXI Rule 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure. 10. The enhanced award amount along with interest be deposited by respondent No.1 with UCO Bank A/c Ashwani Kalia, Delhi High Court Branch through Mr. M.M. Tandon, Member-Retail Team, UCO Bank Zonal, Parliament Street, New Delhi (Mobile No. 09310356400) within 30 days. 11. Upon the aforesaid deposit being made, UCO Bank is directed to release 5% of the same to appellant No.2, 5% to appellant No.3 and 5% to appellant No.4 by transferring the said amount to their respective Saving Bank Account. The remaining amount be kept in fixed deposit in the following manner:- (i) Fixed deposit in respect of 1/3rd of the balance amount in the name of appellant No.2 for a period of one year. (ii) Fixed deposit in respect of 1/3rd of the balance FAO .No.738/2003 Page 5 of 5 amount in the name of appellant No.3 for a period of one year. (iii) Fixed deposit in respect of 1/3rd of the balance amount in the name of appellant No.4 for a period of one year. 12. Interest on all the fixed deposits shall be paid cumulative. 13. No loan, advance or withdrawal shall be allowed on the said fixed deposit receipts without the permission of this Court. 14. The appellants shall furnish all the relevant documents for opening of the Saving Bank Account and Fixed Deposit Account to Mr. M.M. Tandon, Member-Retail Team, UCO Bank Zonal, Parliament Street, New Delhi (Mobile No. 09310356400). 15. Copy of the order be given dasti to counsel for both the parties under signatures of the Court Master. 16. Copy of this order be also sent to Mr. M.M. Tandon, Member-Retail Team, UCO Bank Zonal, Parliament Street, New Delhi (Mobile No. 09310356400) through the UCO Bank, High Court Branch under the signature of Court Master. J.R. MIDHA, J MARCH 09, 2010 aj