THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE GHULAM MOHAMMED MACMA No. 3476 OF 2005 Dated: 30-12-2010 Between: Thatikayala Mallikamba and others ... APPELLANTS AND P.Srihari and another ... RESPONDENTS THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE GHULAM MOHAMMED MACMA No. 3476 OF 2005 JUDGMENT: This appeal under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 is directed against the order dated 08-04-2003 in M.V.O.P No. 754 of 2000 on the file of the Principal Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal-cum- Principal District Court, Warangal. The claimants are the appellants. They filed the said O.P claiming compensation of Rs.3,00,000/- for the death of Komuraiah in an accident. The first appellant is the wife and appellants 2 and 3 are the children of the deceased. On 25.07.2000, at about 11.30 P.M., while the deceased along with others were sitting near the Valkanising shop at Hunter Road, the lorry bearing No. ADM 1326 came in a rash and negligent manner and dashed against the deceased. As a result of the same, the deceased died on the spot. It is the case of the appellants that the deceased was a lorry driver and earning Rs.3,000/- per month. The first respondent remained ex parte before the lower Tribunal. The second respondent – Insurance Company filed the counter denying all the material allegations. On the strength of the pleadings, the lower Tribunal framed the issues as to whether the accident was due to rash and negligent driving of the driver of the vehicle and whether the appellants are legal heirs and dependents upon the deceased and are entitled to claim compensation, if so, to what amount and from whom and to what relief they are entitled to. On behalf of the appellants, PWs 1 and 2 were examined and Exs.A-1 to A-8 were marked and on behalf of the respondents no oral and documentary evidence was adduced. On a consideration of the oral and documentary evidence available on record, the lower Tribunal answered first and second issues in favour of the appellants and with regard to the third issue, the lower Tribunal awarded Rs.1,45,200/- towards compensation. Being dissatisfied with the amount of compensation granted by the lower Tribunal, the present appeal is filed by the appellants. The learned counsel for the appellants contended that the lower Tribunal has taken only Rs.1,200/- per month as the earnings of the deceased though Ex.A7 issued by the employer of the deceased shows that the deceased used to earn Rs.3,000/- per month and as such, the lower Tribunal ought to have taken into consideration Ex.A7 while fixing the earnings of the deceased. The learned counsel for the respondent – Insurance Company contends that the compensation awarded by the lower Tribunal is quite reasonable and needs no interference. There is no dispute with regard to rash and negligent driving by the driver of the crime vehicle. Regarding the earnings of the deceased, the appellants claimed that the deceased was earning Rs.3,000/- per month and in the absence of any contra evidence produced by the respondents, it can be notionally taken as Rs.2,500/- per month and in my view, the same would meet the ends of justice. In Sarla Verma v. Delhi Transport Corporation[1], the Supreme Court observed that where the deceased was married, the deduction towards personal and living expenses of the deceased should be one-third (1/3rd) where the number of dependent family members is 2 to 3, one- fourth (1/4th) where the number of dependent family members is 4 to 6 and one-fifth (1/5th) where the number of dependent family members exceed six. Hence, after deducting one-third amount as per the judgment of the Supreme Court in the said case, loss of earnings would come to Rs.20,000/- per annum (Rs.2,500X12x2/3). The relevant multiplier for the age of 40 years as per Sarla Verma’s case (1 supra) is 15 and if the same is applied, loss of earnings comes to Rs.3,00,000 (Rs.20,000X15). A further sum of Rs.10,000/- is granted towards loss of consortium and Rs.10,000/- is granted towards loss of estate. Thus, the total amount of compensation to which the appellants are entitled to comes to Rs.3,20,000/-, but since the appellants have claimed Rs.3,00,000/-, their claim is restricted to Rs.3,00,000/-. Thus, the compensation awarded by the Tribunal is enhanced from Rs.1,45,200/- to Rs.3,00,000/-. The enhanced amount shall carry interest at 7% per annum from the date of petition till realisation. With the above modification, the civil miscellaneous appeal is allowed. There shall be no order as to costs. GHULAM MOHAMMED, J 30-12-2010 lvl THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE GHULAM MOHAMMED MACMA No. 3476 OF 2005 Dated: 30-12-2010 [1] 2009 (6) SCALE 129