IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH FAO No.5243 of 2009 (O&M) Date of decision:16.12.2010 Anoop and others ....Appellants versus Ramesh Kumar and others ...Respondents CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE K. KANNAN ---- Present: Ms. Shiwani Verma, Advocate, for Mr. Mani Ram Verma, Advocate, for the appellants. Mr. Gourav Mohunta, Advocate, for respondents 1 and 2. Mr. Suvir Dewan, Advocate, for respondent No.3. ---- 1. Whether reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment ? 2. To be referred to the reporters or not ? 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the digest ? ---- K.Kannan, J.(Oral) 1. The appeal is for enhancement of compensation for death of their (claimants') mother in a motor accident. All the claimants were minor children at the time when the petition was filed. Their father had already died earlier but not out of the accident. 2. The Tribunal while assessing the compensation took the income to be Rs.2,700/- per month for an unskilled worker provided deduction of 1/3rd and adopted a multiplier of 15. The learned counsel appearing for the appellants would state that the Tribunal had practised discriminatory approach by observing that while the unskilled male FAO No.5243 of 2009 (O&M) - 2 - worker could get a larger amount, a woman could have get only Rs.2,700/-. We are not examining any issue of public appointment for undertaking an exercise whether there was any discrimination practised. The Tribunal took what was appropriate and I would not feel inclined to make any intervention in that regard. The modification that I would still subject the award of the Tribunal would be to take the deduction for personal expenses at 1/4th instead of 1/3rd and apply a multiplier of 16 instead of 15. I will also add compensation for love and affection for all the children, who had to cope with their lives without the presence of both their parents. The poignancy of loss is more acute in this case only because the mother, who was a sole bread-winner for the family after the death of her husband, has also died and, therefore, I would provide Rs.5,000/- for loss of love and affection for each of the children. I will retain the compensation awarded at Rs.7,000/- for funeral expenses but I would add another Rs.2,500/- towards loss to estate. The total amount of compensation shall be as per the tabulation below:- Sr.No. Heads of claim Tribunal High Court Amount (Rs.) Amount (Rs.) Age:35 years Claimants: Children 1. Income 2,700 2,700 2. Deduction 1/3th 1/4th 3. Multiplier 15 16 4. Loss of dependence 3,88,800 6. Loss of consortium, 25,000 love and affection 7. Loss to estate 2,500 8. Funeral expenses 7,000 7,000 _______ _______ Total 3,31,000 4,23,300 FAO No.5243 of 2009 (O&M) - 3 - 3. The amount in excess over what has been determined by the Tribunal already shall attract interest at 6% from the date of petition till date of payment. 4. Amongst the claimants only the first claimant appears to have turned a major, his share shall be permitted to be withdrawn fully. As regards the share of the remaining children, these will all be retained in deposit of a nationalized bank upto the periods till they attain the age of majority and the amount shall be released after attaining majority to the respective claimants. The interest accruals on the deposits during the minority shall be paid to the first claimant or any other person, who has been lawfully appointed as a guardian for the minor children for their maintenance. 5. In this case, the Tribunal has found that there had been no permit for the bus and made the insurer still liable but has afforded to the insurer a right of recovery. The same right shall still be available for the Insurance Company to satisfy the claim and recover the same against the insured/owner of the offending vehicle. 6. The appeal is allowed on the above terms. (K.KANNAN) JUDGE 16.12.2010 sanjeev