:1: IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY APPELLATE JURISDICTION FIRST APPEAL NO. 1578 OF 2008 WITH CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 5143 OF 2007 National Insurance Company Ltd. ..Appellant Vs. 1. Mrs. Vanita Chetan Patel and ors. ..Respondents Mr. N.G. Ghotekar for appellant. Mr. T.J. Mendon for respondent nos.1 to 4. CORAM: B.H. MARLAPALLE & CORAM: B.H. MARLAPALLE & CORAM: B.H. MARLAPALLE & D.B. BHOSALE,JJ. D.B. BHOSALE,JJ. D.B. BHOSALE,JJ. Dated: September 18, 2008. Dated: September 18, 2008. Dated: September 18, 2008. P.C.: P.C.: P.C.: 1. Heard Mr. Ghotekar the learned counsel for the appellant-Insurer. Mr. Mendon appears for the respondents-claimants. 2. Admit. 3. Printing dispensed with. By the consent of the parties, the appeal is taken up for final hearing :2: forthwith. 4. Chetan Patel, born on 6/9/1982 met with an accident on 6/11/2004 being a pillion rider on a motorcycle bearing No.MH-04-BE-111 which was coming to Mumbai on Mumbai - Ahemdabad highway. His wife and parents along with the minor son approached the Accident Claims Tribunal at Palghar in MACP No. 141 of 2005 and claimed the compensation of Rs.50,00,000/-. The said claim has been partly allowed by the impugned award dated 7/4/2007 and the owner of the vehicle (Tipper bearing No.MH-04-P-1128) and the Insurance Company have been jointly and severally directed to pay a sum of Rs.36,78,000/- to the claimants along with interest at 6% per annum from the date of the application till the amount is realised. Mr.Ghotekar states that the entire claim amount, as per the impugned award, has already been deposited by the appellant with the Claims Tribunal. 5. The Insurance Company states that it had made an application under Section 170 of the Motor Vehicles :3: Act, 1988 but no speaking order was passed except an endorsement "seen" on the said application by the learned Member of the Claims Tribunal and, therefore, it has the right to challenge the award on all counts. As per the Insurance Company the income of the deceased could not have been assessed at Rs.3,50,000/- per annum. It was also submitted that the element of contributory negligence was not considered. 6. The factum of the accident is not in dispute. It is also not disputed that the deceased was a pillion rider on a two wheeler. So far as his income is concerned, the income tax returns for the preceding two years i.e. 2003-04 and 2004-05 were brought on record. The income tax return of the second year was filed on 10//7/2004 and the income was shown at Rs.2,45,000/-, whereas income of the earlier year i.e. 2003-04 was shown at Rs.1,54,680/-. The Tribunal relied upon both these returns and as per the Tribunal they were filed in the normal course and there were no reasons to suspect about the correctness of the income. The returns also indicated that there was an :4: increase of about Rupees Ninety thousand in the income of the second year i.e. 2004-05. Considering the prospective growth and recession in the business like the one in which the deceased was engaged, the Tribunal fixed the prospective income of the deceased at Rs.3,50,000/- per annum. 1/3rd amount was deducted from the same attributing towards the personal expenses of the deceased and, therefore, 2/3rd amount came to little over Rs.2,16,000/- but the Tribunal fixed it at Rs.2,15,000/-. The Tribunal fixed the multiplier at 17 keeping in mind that the deceased was of 22 years of age on the date of the accident. The loss of dependency came to Rs.36,55,000/- and an amount of Rs.10,000/- has been granted towards loss of consortium and another Rs.10,000/- towards loss of love. Funeral expenses & conveyance has been compensated at Rs.3000/-. The total amount of compensation awarded by the Tribunal came to Rs.36,78,000/-. We do not find any error in computing the amount of compensation by the Tribunal and in any case no other issue has been raised by the Insurance Company in this appeal. :5: 7. However, we are of the considered opinion that the entire amount as has been deposited by the Insurance Company as per the impugned award should be invested with a nationalised bank in fixed deposit and the claimant nos.1, 3 and 4 should be allowed to withdraw the quarterly interest that may accrue on the invested amount. 8. We, therefore, dismiss the appeal without any order as to costs. We direct that 30% of the deposited amount with the Claims Tribunal be invested in the name of claimant no.1 and she will be allowed to withdraw quarterly interest accruing on the said amount. 50% of the deposited amount shall be invested in the name of claimant no.2 with claimant no.1 as the guardian. The interest of this amount will be reinvested till claimant no.2 attains majority. The remaining 20% amount will be invested in the like manner in the joint names of claimant nos.3 and 4 and they are allowed to withdraw the quarterly interest on the said amount. Liberty to claimant no.1 to apply :6: for withdrawal of some amount from the account of claimant no.2 after he attains the age of 12 years. In the investment jointly to be made in the names of claimant nos.3 and 4, the claimant no.1 will be shown as a nominee. The amount of Rs.25,000/-, as deposited with the Registry of this court, be transferred to the Claims Tribunal. The deposit will be initially for a period of five years. 9. Civil Application No. 5143 of 2007 does not survive and the same shall stand disposed as such. (D.B. Bhosale,J.) (D.B. Bhosale,J.) (D.B. Bhosale,J.) (B.H. Marlapalle,J.) (B.H. Marlapalle,J.) (B.H. Marlapalle,J.)