IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA, CHANDIGARH FAO No. 2357 of 1999 Date of decision March 3, 2011 Karamjit Kaur ....... Appellant Versus Bidhi Chand and others ........Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE K. KANNAN Present:- None for the appellant. Mr. Suvir Dewan , Advocate for respondent No.3. None for respondent Nos.1 and 2. **** 1. Whether reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment ? No 2. To be referred to the reporters or not? No 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the digest?No K. Kannan, J (oral). 1. The appeal is for enhancement of claim for compensation for death of a male aged 40 years. He was a Development Officer in LIC and the income proved was `8,994/-. The Tribunal deducted the Provident Fund, Cooperative Society Loans etc., and took the contribution to the family at `1500/- adopted a multiplier of 13 and provided for compensation at `2,41,000/-. There is no representation on behalf of the appellant but I have proceeded to dispose of the case on merits on the basis of materials with the assistance of the counsel for the Insurance Company. 2. In my view, the Tribunal has wrongly assessed the compensation by making deductions for Provident Fund and allowances which ought not to have been done. The gross income minus tax with the provision for 30% increase shall be the norm as per decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Sarla Verma Vs.Delhi Road Transport Corporation reported in (2009) 6 SC 121. Even the choice of multiplier was erroneous and it should have been 15 instead of 13. I reassess the compensation and tabulate the entitlement of compensation as follows:- Age Occupati on Claimants S.No. Heads of claim Tribunal High Court Income `8994/- %age of increase 30% - tax `11,69,22.00– 1169=10523.20 Deduction `7892.4 Multiplicand `94708.8 Multiplier 13 15 Loss of dependence `14,20,634/- Loss of consortium `5000/- `5000/- Loss to estate - `5000/- Funeral expenses `2,000/- `2000/- Total `2,41,000/- `14,23,634/- The amount in excess of what has been awarded by the Tribunal shall carry interest at the rate of 6% per annum from the date of petition till the date of payment. The liability shall be in the same manner as determined by the Tribunal. The amount shall be distributed amongst the widow, children and mother in the ratio of 2:2:2:2:1 respectively. The award is modified and the appeal is allowed. Registry is directed to send copy of the order directly to the first appellant at the address mentioned in the Memo of Parties. (K. KANNAN) JUDGE March 3, 2011 archana