FAO No. 5194 of 2008 -1- IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH FAO No. 5194 of 2008 (O&M) Date of decision : 16.3.2010 ... Smt. Urmila Devi and others ................Appellants vs. Harun Ansari and others .................Respondents Coram: Hon'ble Mr. Justice K.C. Puri Present: Sh. Rishu Mahajan, Advocate for Sh. Harkesh Manuja, Advocate for the appellants Sh. Mirgank Sharma, Advocate for Sh. Ashwani Talwar, Advocate for the Insurance company- respondent No.3 ... K.C. Puri, J. (Oral) This is an appeal directed by widow, three minor children and mother of Satyawan, claiming compensation on account of death of Satyawan in a motor vehicular accident. Learned Tribunal after appraisal of the evidence on the file accepted the claim petition and granted an amount of Rs.7,47,091/-. The income of the deceased has been taken as Rs.6,000/- per month and after deducting 1/3rd amount in respect of personal expenses of the deceased, the monthly dependency has been taken as Rs.4,000/- and the yearly dependency has been taken as Rs.48,000 (4000 X 12). The multiplier applied by the Tribunal assessing the age of the FAO No. 5194 of 2008 -2- deceased between 35 to 40 was 14. So, the amount of compensation was calculated as Rs.6,72,000/- (48000 X 14). Rs.10,000/- was allowed on account of last rites and Rs.5,000/- was granted to the widow with regard to loss of consortium. Medical bills amounting to Rs.60,091/- were produced, which were also allowed. In this manner, the claimants were granted compensation of Rs.7,47,091/-. Feeling dissatisfied with the above said award, the claimants have preferred the present appeal for enhancement. Learned counsel for the appellants has submitted that according to the testimony of PW-4 Bhupinder Singh, the deceased was drawing salary of Rs.10,215/- per month. Whereas according to Exhibit P-35, the income has been shown to be as Rs.8,885/-. Learned Tribunal after taking into account the deductions took the salary of the deceased as Rs.6,000/- per month. Bhupinder Singh PW-4 has stated that deceased was earning Rs.10,215/- per month and he has produced supporting vouchers Exhibits P-28 to P-34. These have to be considered while assessing the income of the deceased. As per Exhibits P-28 to P-34 income of the deceased has been shown as under:- Exhibit Gross income Net income P-28 Rs. 9,888/- Rs. 8,806/- P-29 Rs. 9,325/- Rs. 8,283/- P-30 Rs.11,509/ Rs. 8,928/- P-31 Rs. 7,429/- Rs. 6,920/- P-32 Rs.13,806/- Rs.11,187/- P-33 Rs. 8,618/- Rs. 8,088/- FAO No. 5194 of 2008 -3- P-34 Rs. 7,265/- Rs. 6,742/- Conveyance allowance has also been shown to be paid to the deceased Satyawan, which after his death could not be given and that amount must have been spent by the deceased for going to work. The income assessed by the Tribunal as Rs.6,000/- per month does not call for any interference. However, the dependency has to be assessed after deducting 1/4th amount, in view of authority reported as Smt. Sarla Verma and others vs. Delhi Transport Corporation and another 2009(3) RCR (Civil) 77. In this case claimants are 5 in number. According to Smt. Sarla Verma case (Supra), if the claimants are 4 to 6, then 1/4th cut should be imposed on account of personal expenses of the deceased. So, by applying that principle the monthly dependency comes to Rs.4,500/- per month and the yearly dependency comes to Rs.54,000/- (4500 X 12). The deceased according to the Tribunal was aged between 35 to 40 years. So, the multiplier as per the above said authority should be 15. So, by applying the multiplier of 15, the amount comes to Rs.8,10,000/- (54000 X 15). The Tribunal has allowed Rs.10,000/- on account of last rites and Rs.5,000/- on account of loss of consortium and Rs.60,091/- has been allowed on account of medical expenses. That amount stands upheld. So, in this manner, the total amount of compensation comes to Rs.8,85,091/-. The Tribunal has allowed Rs.7,47,091/-. So, the amount of compensation stands enhanced by Rs.1,38,000/-. The said amount shall carry interest @ 7% per annum from the date of appeal till payment. The liability to pay the enhanced amount shall be the same as held by the Tribunal. Out of the said FAO No. 5194 of 2008 -4- enhanced amount, Rs.80,000/- shall be paid to the widow and the remaining amount shall be paid to the remaining claimants in equal share. The appeal stands disposed of. ( K.C. Puri ) 16.3.2010 Judge chugh