FAO No.6456 of 2010 (O&M) -1- IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATES OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH FAO No.6456 of 2010 (O&M) Date of Decision. 01.04.2011 Premi Devi w/o Banarsi Dass and another ......Appellants Versus Gurmail Singh son of Desh Raj and others .....Respondents Present: Mr. Sunil Kumar Sharma, Advocate for the appellants. CORAM:HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE K. KANNAN 1. Whether Reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment ? 2. To be referred to the Reporters or not ? 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest? -.- K. KANNAN J.(ORAL) 1. Delay in filing the appeal is condoned. 2. The appeal is for enhancement of claim for death of a person aged 30 years where the claimants were parents aged 55 and 51. He was an agricultural labourer and the evidence was that he was earning Rs.3300/- per month. The Tribunal took the income at Rs.3,000/-, made a 50% deduction and applied a multiplier of 11 in terms of the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Sarla Verma Vs. DTC 2009(6) SCC 121 and the decision in Shakti Devi Vs. New India Assurance Company Ltd. JT 2010(13) SC 103. The latter judgment states that appropriate multiplier will be dependent on the age of the parents, in a case where the deceased is a son/daughter, who is younger in age in either of the parents. Learned counsel states that assessment of funeral expenses at Rs.2,000/- is grossly low and the interest awarded is also not appropriate. The issue of enhancement of claim for compensation FAO No.6456 of 2010 (O&M) -2- cannot be seen in such isolation to see whether funeral expenses could have been more or less. The overall compensation is seen to be just and I would not interfere only on account of the fact that funeral expenses could have been more. The interest awarded @6% also is reasonable in case where the case had been filed on 23.02.2008 and the case came to be decided even within a year on 02.01.2009. I will not make any intervention on the issue of quantum. 3. The award is confirmed and the appeal is dismissed. (K. KANNAN) JUDGE April 01, 2011 Pankaj*