HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR DIVISION BENCH CORAM: HON'BLE SHRI RAJEEV GUPTA, C.J. & HON'BLE SHRI RANGNATH CHANDRAKAR, J. Aepellants Claimants Respondents Driver Owner Insurer Wlisc. Appeal (C) No. 979 of 2008 1 Deleted 2 Eswanta Bai,w/o Shri Maniram, caste Kevat, aged about 33 years, both r/o vill. Metepar, P.S. Gendatola, Tah. & Dist. Rajnandgaon C.G. VERSUS 1. Sanaulla Khan, s/o Aminoullah, Khan, aged about years, r/o Tah. & P.S. Dongargaon, disft. Rajnandgaon C.G. 2 Satish Kumar Jain s/o Shri S.C. Jain, aged about 31 years, r/o Tah. & P.S. Dongargaon, dist. Rajnandgaon C.G. 3 National Insurance Co. Ltd. Kamthi Line, Rajnandgaon, C.G. Appeal ynder Sectjon^t73 of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 Present: Shri Anand Shukla, counsel for the appellants. Shri Sanjeev Kumar Sahu, counsel for respondents No.1 and2. Shri Rakesh Sahu, counsel on behalf of Shri Goutam Khetrapal, counsel for respondent No.3. ORDER •th (28tnJune,2011) The following order of the Court was passed by Rajeev Gupta, C.J. "^•^. ^ "<& ^^S^S^ ^1 ^¥l ''^sy Vj-f-r ••'' •? This is claimants' appeal for enhancement of the compensation awarded by the First Additional Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Rajnandgaon (for short 'the Tribunal') vide award dated 30.04.2008, passed in Claim Case No. 101/2007. 2) As against the compensation of Rs.32,45,0007- claimed by the appellants/ claimants, unfortunate parents of deceased girl Kala Bai, aged about 18 years, by filing a claim petition under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, for her death in the motor accident on 05.01.2007, the Tribunal awarded a total sum of Rs.1,12,500/- 'as compensation to the claimants along with interest @ 6% per annum from the date of filing of the claim petition till the date of actual payment. 3) The Tribunal on a close scrutiny of the entire evidence led before it held that the claimants' daughter Kala Bai died on account of the injuries sustained by her in the motor accident on 05.01.2007; the accident occurred due to rash and negligent driving of the driver of the offending vehicle Truck bearing registration No.C.G.08 ZC/0489; as the above offending vehicle Truek on the date of the accident was insured with the National Insurance Company Limited and the Insurance Company could not establish any breach of the policy conditions, the Insurance Company was liable to pay compensation to the claimants. 4) As the respondents have not filed any appeal against the award, the above findings recorded by the Tribunal have now attained finality. •V :'.^.~~- •-^••:'^^;?:rVJy;=. 'ft •V 5) The Tribunal assessed the income of the deceased at Rs.60/- per day; and Rs.1,800/- per month. By deducting 2/3rd of the income of the deceased towards her personal expenses, the Tribunal assessed the claimants' dependency at Rs.600/- per month and Rs.7,200/- per annum. By multiplying the annual dependency of Rs.7,200/- with the multiplier of 15, the compensation was worked out to Rs.1,08,000/-. By awarding further sum of Rs.2,000/- towards funeral expenses and Rs.2,500/- for lossof estate, the Tribunal awarded a total sum of Rs.1,12,500/- as compensation to the claimants for the death of their daughter Kala Bai in the motor accident. The Tribunal further directed payment of interest on the above amount of compensation of Rs.1,12,500/- @ 6% per annum from the date of filing ofthe claim petition till the date ofactual payment.. 6) Shri Anand Shukla, learned counsel for the appellants submitted that the Tribunal has erred in awarding low compensation of Rs.1,12,500/- only. 7) Shri Rakesh Sahu, learned counsel appearing on behalf of 'Shri Goutam Khetrapal, learned counsel for respondent No.3, the National Insurance Company Limited, the insurer of the offending vehicle Truck, on the other hand, supported the award and contended that the compensation of Rs.1,12,500/- awarded by the Tribunal is just and proper compensation in the facts and circumstances of the present case. 8) Shri Sanjeev Kumar Sahu, learned counsel for respondents No.1 Sanaulla Khan and No.2 Satish Kumar Jain, .iij_...,"j,i"H——m^mn the driver and owner of the offending vehicle Truck also supported the award. 9) The claimants' daughter, deceased Kala Bai was aged about 18 years. Her father Maniram and mother Eswanta Bai were aged about 34 years and 33 years respectively. It has come in the evidence that both the claimants were having their own independent income as they were working as labour. 10) The assessment of the income of the deceased by the Tribunal at Rs.60/- per day and Rs.1,800/- per month considering that deceased Kala Bai was aged about 18 years is slightly on the lower side. In our opinion, the Tribunal ought to have assessed the income of the deceased at Rs.2,000/- per month and Rs.24,000/- per annum. 11) We, therefore, propose to recompute the compensation taking the income of the deceased at Rs.2,000/- per month and Rs.24,000/- per annum. 12) As deceased Kala Bai was unmarried on the date of the accident, and would have been married in due course, we deem it appropriate to deduct 50% of the income of the deceased towards her personal expenses in view of the dicta of the Apex Court in the cases of Syed Basheer Ahamed and others Versus Mohammed Jameel a.nd another reported in (2009) 2 Supreme Court Cases 225 and Sarla Verma (Smt) and Others Verslis Delhi Transport Corporation and another, reported in (2009) 6 SCC 121. The claimants' dependency, therefore, is "s. fc' s- ^J. assessed at Rs.12,000/- per annum by deducting 50% of Rs.24,000/- towards the personal expenses ofthe deceased. 13) As the claimants were parents of the deceased, the appropriate multiplier in the case would be 10 in view of the dictum of the Apex Court in the case of Municipal Corporation of Greater Bombay Vs. Laxman lyer and another, reported in (2003) 8 SCC-731, wherein it was held that in those cases where the claimants are parents of the deceased, the multiplier should never exceed 10. 14) By multiplying the annual dependency of Rs.12,000/- with the multiplier of 10 the compensation works out to Rs.1,20,000/-. The claimants are further entitled to receive Rs.5,000/- towards funeral expenses; and Rs.5,000/- for loss of estate. The claimants, thus, become entitled to receive a total sum of Rs.1,30,000/- as compensation for the death of their daughter Kala Bai in the motor accident. 15) The claimants are further awardeda sum of Rs.2,500/- as quantified amount of interest on the enhanced amount of compensation of Rs.17,500/-. 16) For the foregoing reasons, the appeal filed by the appellants/ claimants for enhancement of the compensation is allowed in part. The compensation of Rs.1,12,500/- awarded by the Tribunal is enhanced to Rs.1,30,000/- with further quantified amount of interest of Rs.2,500/- on the enhanced amount of \ compensation ofRs. 17.500/-. ^' subbu (^t 17) Respondent No.3 the National Insurance Company Limited is granted three months' time for depositing the total sum of Rs.20,000/- (Rs.17,500/- towards enhanced amount of compensation + Rs.2,500/- towards quantified amount of interest on the enhanced amount of compensation of Rs.17,500/-) before the conc'erning Claims Tribunal. 18) No order as to costs. Sd/- Chief Justice M K-i't. i-tiandrakar Judge •V \: