HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR DIVISION BENCH CORAWI: HON'BLE SHRI RAJEEV GUPTA, C.J. & HON'BLE SHRI N.K. AGARWAL, J. Appellants Claimants Respondents Misc. Appeal No. 893 of 2005 1. Ashok Kumar s/o Shirmal aged about 40 years. 2. Smt. Maya w/o Ashok Kumar Parwani aged about 38 years. All resident of Purani Basti Baloda Bazar, distt. Raipur C.G. VERSUS 1. Jai Singh Thakur s/o Fate Singh Thakur r/o Sanjay Colony, Baloda Bazar, distt. Raipur C.G. (Driver of Truck No. C.G. 04/ZC- 2569) 2. Anil Jain s/o not known r/o Nehru Chowk, near by Ramsagar Talab, Baloda Bazar distt. Raipur C.G. (Owner of Truck No. C.G. 04/ZC- 2569) 3. The New India Insurance Co. Ltd. Zone Office Raipur, Branch Office Civil Line Baloda Bazar Distt. Raipur C.G. (Insurance Company of Truck No. C.G. 04/ZC-2569) Memo ofappeal underSection 173 ofthe MotorVehicles Act. Present: Shri Y.C. Sharma and Smt. M. Asha, counsel for the appellants. Shri Shailendra Sharma, counsel for respondent No.3. '!'• %. % ORDER (2nd WIay, 2011) The following order of the Court was passed by Rajeev Gupta, C.J. The unfortunate parents of deceased boy Joni Parwani are the appellants before us in this appeal for enhancement of the compensation awarded by the Second Additional Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Baloda Bazar, (for short 'the Tribunal') vide award dated 05.04.2005, passed in Claim Case No.56/2004. 2) The Tribunal on a close scrutiny of the entire evidence ted before it held that the insurer of the offending vehicle Truck liable to pay compensation to the claimants. The Tribunal assessing the notional income of the deceased boy at Rs.15,000/- per annum; by deducting 1/3 of Rs.15,000/- towards the personal expenses ofthe deceased; by multiplying the annual dependency of Rs.10,000/- with the multiplier of 15, worked out the compensation payable to the claimants at Rs.1,50,000/-. The Tribunal while awarding total compensation of Rs.1,50,000/- to the claimants for the death oftheir son Joni Parwani in the motor accident further directed payment of interest on the above amount @9% per annum from the date of filing of the claim petition till the date of actual payment. 3) Shri Y.C. Sharma and Smt. M. Asha, learned counsel for the appellants vehemently argued that the Tribunal has erred in awarding tow compensation of Rs.1,50,000/- only though the appellants' son Joni Parwani was a brilliant student and had a bright w ; w' 5" y^ -.h^ssw^s^^^^*"'^^'- ly:^"^^ r'""1"-8!, '^ i'wa&i. l - ns-Slsli, » t. 'f/ '"y lili'^clms-y future and he would have extended great support to the appellants in their old age. 4) Shri Shailendra Sharma, learned counsel for respondent No.3, the New India Insurance Company Limited, the insurer of the offending vehicle Truck, on the other hand, supported the award and contended that as the deceased on the date of the accident was not having any independent income of his own, the compensation of Rs.1,50,000/- awarded by the Tribunal cannot be termed as inadequate so as to warrant enhancement in this appeal. 5) Deceased Joni Parwani was aged about 13 years on the date of the accident. The claimants are his parents. His father Ashok Kumar was aged about 40 years whereas his mother Smt. Maya was 38 years of age on the date of the accident. Deceased boy Joni Parwani was a student of 6 standard. 6) The Apex Court while considering as to what would be the just and proper compensation for the deathof a child aged about 7 years in the case of Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. Vs Syed Ibrahim and others, reported in 2007 (4) TAC-385 (SC) observed in paras 9&10: "9. This Court in Lata Wadhwa while computing compensation made distinction between the deceased children falling within the age group of 5 to 10 years and age group of 10 to 15 years. 10. In cases of young children of tender age, in view of uncertainties abound, neither their income at the time of death nor the prospects of the future increase in their income nor chances of advancement of their ,,«•' „ .'•-'iiS, .>>V,,^ ^ career are capable of proper determination on estimated basis. The reason is that at such an early age, the uncertainties in regard to their academic pursuits, achievements in career and thereafter advancement in life are so many that nothing can be assumed with reasonable certainty. Therefore, neither is the income of the deceased child capable of assessment on estimated basis nor is the financial loss suffered by the parents capable of mathematical computation." The Apex Court in the case of Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. Vs Syed Ibrahim and others (supra) held that the compensationof Rs.51,500/- was just and proper compensation for the death of a child aged about seveh years. 7) Now reverting to the present case, the compensation of Rs.1,50,000/- awarded by the Tribunal when examined in the contextof the above-mentioned dictum of the Apex Court in the case of Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd., (supra), and the fact that the claimants' son deceased Joni Parwani was aged about 13 years only and a student of 6 standard, we are satisfied, does not call for any enhancement in this appeal. 8) As we do not find any scope for enhancement of the compensation awarded by the Tribunal, the appeal filed by the appellants/ claimants for enhancement of the compensation is liable to be dismissed and is hereby dismissed. No order as to costs. 9) sd/- Chief Justice Sd/- N.K. Agrawal Judge