IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH CM No.28215-CII of 2010 in FAO No.250 of 2004 (O&M) Date of decision:29.11.2010 Dal Kumari ....Appellant versus Sardool Singh and others ...Respondents II. FAO No.4935 of 2003 (O&M) Ishlesh Kumari and others ....Appellants versus Sardool Singh and others ...Respondents CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE K. KANNAN ---- Present: Ms. Jigyasa Tanwar, Advocate, for the appellant in FAO No. 250 of 2004 and for respondent No.4 in FAO No.4935 of 2003. Mr.R.M.Suri, Advocate, for the Insurance Company. Mr. Kulwant Singh Dhanora, Advocate, for the appellants in FAO No.4935 of 2003 and for respondents 4 to 6 in FAO No.250 of 2004. ---- K.Kannan, J. (Oral) 1. This application is at the instance of the respondents in the appeal contending that in a Lok Adalat settlement, the appellant mother has secured an additional amount of Rs.2,50,000/- without reference to the claimants. I cannot really fault the appellants for any reason or attribute mala fides, for, the widow and children had been cited as respondents and they had not been as plucky and resourceful to force the CM No.28215-CII of 2010 in FAO No.250 of 2004 (O&M) - 2 - settlement to their own benefit. The compensation had been claimed at the instance of the widow, son, daughter and mother and while awarding compensation at Rs.5,85,000/-, the Tribunal has provided for Rs.85,000/- to mother and the rest to the wife and to two children. The amount awarded by the Tribunal to the mother was even less than 1/5th which I think is not appropriate. A mother is an heir at law and entitled to share equivalent to the share of the other heirs. The law accords a right to claim to a legal representative and invariably the apportionment is made on the basis of how a particular person is deprived of contribution by the death of the person on whom the claimant was a dependent. In the amount of Rs.2,50,000/- that was arrived at in the settlement, I would take Rs.1 lakh to be payable to the mother and the remaining Rs.1,50,000/- shall be paid equally to the wife, son and daughter. An increased share in the enhanced portion, in my view, is necessary to off- set the lopsided apportionment made by the Tribunal already. 2. The amount deposited by the Insurance Company shall now be apportioned in the manner indicated above. The application is disposed of as such and the award of the Lok Adalat shall stand modified as above. 3. In view of the disposal of the application, the appeal filed in FAO No.4935 of 2003 is disposed of on the above terms. (K.KANNAN) JUDGE 29.11.2010 sanjeev