FAO No. 3969 of 2009 -1- In the High Court of Punjab & Haryana at Chandigarh FAO No. 3969 of 2009 (O&M) Date of decision : 25.5.2010 Mrs. Pooja and another ... Appellants vs Vijay Kaushal and others .... Respondents Coram: Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rajesh Bindal Present: Mr. Saurav Verma, Advocate, for the appellants. Mr. R. M. Suri, Advocate, for the Insurance company. Rajesh Bindal J. This appeal has been filed by the claimants seeking enhancement of compensation on account of death of Rajesh Kumar. Vide award dated 4.11.2008 passed by the learned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Chandigarh (hereinafter to be referred as “the Tribunal”), a sum of Rs. 4,05,800/- has been awarded along with interest @ 7.5% per annum from the date of filing the petition till its realization. Briefly the facts as stated in the award of the learned Tribunal are that on 28.2.2005 at about 9.30 P.M., Rajesh Kumar was going on his scooter no. CH-01-T-5925 towards Sectors 37/38, Chandigarh. When he reached near the dividing road of Sectors 24/25, a car bearing registration no. CH-03-E-4452, driven by respondent no. 1 in a rash and negligent manner, came from opposite side and hit the scooter. As a result of this, Rajesh Kumar received multiple injuries. He was taken to PGI, where he was declared brought dead. FIR No. 59 dated 28.2.2005 was registered against the driver of the offending vehicle. The claim petition filed by the dependents of the deceased was allowed by the learned Tribunal. Still dissatisfied with the award of compensation, they have approached this court for further enhancement. Learned counsel for the appellants submitted that the deceased was 28 years of age at the time of death and was maintaining his family, which included his wife, a son and widow mother-in-law. While assessing the income of the deceased the learned Tribunal has totally ignored the fact that the deceased was working as vegetable vendor in Sector-9, Chandigarh, which is a busy place. He was earning Rs. 10,000/- to Rs. 15,000/- per month and the monthly income assessed by the learned Tribunal as Rs. 2,700/- is on lower side and considering the evidence produced by the claimants, the same should at least be assessed at Rs. 10,000/- per month. FAO No. 3969 of 2009 -2- On the other hand, learned counsel for the respondent Insurance company submitted that much more than what the claimants deserved, has been awarded by the learned Tribunal. It was submitted that in the absence of any income proof, the learned Tribunal has rightly assessed the income of the deceased, who was working as a vegetable vendor, at Rs. 2,700/- per month, the same does not call for any further enhancement. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the paper-book. There is no dispute regarding assessment of dependency and application of multiplier by the learned Tribunal. The only dispute in the present appeal is regarding the assessment of the monthly income of the deceased. It is not disputed by the learned counsel for the respondent insurance company that the deceased was working as vegetable vendor in Sector-9, Chandigarh, which is a busy posh market. Had he been working in a remote area or far from the busy place, it could be presumed that he was earning Rs. 2,000/- to Rs. 3,000/- per month. The income assessed by the learned Tribunal considering the deceased as an unskilled labourer cannot be said to be just and fair. He was the sole bread earner of his family. His mother-in-law was also dependent upon him. Considering the aforesaid facts, in my opinion, the income of the deceased should be assessed at Rs. 4,000/- per month i. e. Rs. 48,000/- per annum. Applying a cut of 1/3rd on account of his personal expenses as has rightly been applied by the learned Tribunal, the annual dependency would come out to Rs. 32,000/-. If multiplier of 18 is applied thereon, the amount of compensation would come out to Rs. 5,76,000/-, as against Rs. 3,88,800/- assessed by the learned Tribunal. The total compensation now comes out to Rs. 5,93,000/- (Rs. 5,76,000 + 15,000+2000) as against Rs. 4,05,800/- assessed by the Tribunal. The award of the learned Tribunal is modified to the extent mentioned above. The enhanced compensation shall be shared and dealt with in the same manner as directed by the Tribunal. The enhanced compensation shall carry interest @ 6% from the date of filing of the claim petition till realisation. The appeal is disposed of in the above terms. 25.5.2010 ( Rajesh Bindal) vs. Judge