HiGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR DIVISION BENCH CORAM: HON'BLE SHRI RAJEEV GUPTA, CJ. & HON'BLE SHRi N.K. AGARWAL. J. IVIisc. Appeal (C) No. 734 of 2008 Appe!!ants Respondents Driver Owner insurer Smt Pushpa Chaturvedi, w/o Late Rakesh Kumar Chaturvedi, aged about 40 years Rajnish Kumar Chatruvedi, s/o Late Rakesh Kumar Chaturvedi, aged about 26 years Ku Shobh Chaturvedi, d/o Late Rakesh Kumar Chaturvedi, aged about19 years All resident of Shanti Nagar, Bhilai - 3, House of Karamat Ali, Tahsil & District Durg (CG) VERSUS LK Reddi, S/o L Kripasindhu, aged about 50 years, R/o Near Ram Mandir, Balaji Nagar, Khurshipar, PS Chhawni Bhilaj Nagar, District Durg Vinod Kumar Mkshra, S/o Ramsanehi Mishra, aged about not known, R/o Sector-8, Road No.7, Quarter No.2, Bhilai Nagar, Tahsil & District - Durg (CG) (Owner of Truck No.CG-08 ZC/0696) Manager, National Insurance Company Limited, Branch Office Bhutani Complex, GE Road, Power Hosue, Bhilai, District - Durg (CG) (Vehicle Insurer Company Truck No.CG-OSZC/0696) Memo of appeal under Section 173 ofthe Motor Vehicles Act. ^^^ f' ^r"^" <@:Ba>.. :'^. ^R Q) Present: Shri DN Prajapati, counsel for the appellants. Shri Sreekumar Agrawal, Senior Counsel with Shri Anand Gupta, counsel for respondent No.3. ORDER (19th July, 2011) The following order of the Court was passed by Rajeev.Gupta, C.J. This is claimants' appeal for enhancement of the compensation awarded by the 8th Additional Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Durg (for short 'the Tribunal') vide award dated 13.03.2008, passed in Claim Case No.60/2007. 2) As against the compensation of Rs.20,90,000/- claimed by the appellants/ claimants, unfortunate widow and children of deceased Rakesh Kumar Chaturvedi by filing a claim petition under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, for his death in the motor accident on 29.11.2006, the Tribunal awarded a total sum of Rs.2,83,500/- as compensation 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 the National Insurance Company Limited, the insurer of the offending vehicle Truck bearing registration No.CG-08 ZC/0696 liable to pay compensation to the claimants. 4) As the insurer of the offending vehide Truck has not filed any appeal challenging the above finding recorded by the Tribunal, the same now has attained finality. ..^/'r^^1 ^ ^ / ^,'^^^ .^- f\ 5) The Tribunal assessed the income of the deceased at Rs.3,000/- per month and Rs.36,000/- per annum. By deducting 1/3 of Rs.36,000/- towards the personal expenses of the deceased, the claimants' dependency was assessed at Rs.24,000/- per annum. By multiplying the annual dependency of Rs.24,000/- with the multiplier of 11, the compensation was worked out to Rs.2,64,000/-. By awarding further sum of Rs.19,500/- under other heads, the Tribunal awarded a total sum of Rs.2,83,500/- as compensation to the claimants for the death of deceased Rakesh Kumar Chaturvedi in the motor accident. The Tribunal further directed payment of interest on the above amount of compensation of Rs.2,83,500/- @ 6% per annum from the date of filing of the claim petition till the date of actual payment. 6) Shri D.N. Prajapati, learned counsel for the appellants vehemently argued that the Tribunal has erred in not accepting the claimants' evidence about the income of the deceased and in assessing his income at Rs.3,000/- per month only; in deducting 1/3rd of the income of the deceased towards his persona! expenses; in selecting the lower multiplier of 11; and in awarding low compensation of Rs.2,83,500/- only. 7) Shri Sreekumar Agrawal, learned Senior Counsel with Shri Anand Gupta, learned counsel for respondent No.3, the National Insurance Company Limited, the insurer of the offending vehicle Truck, on the other hand, contended that the compensation n \ :^^^^:^, %,-: ^ '^::.;;-^ ^. ^, !\ 7.1 ..y is^^"" of Rs.2,83,500/- awarded by the Tribunal js just and proper compensation in the facts and circumstances of the present case. 8) True, the claimants pleaded that deceased Rakesh Kumar Chaturvedi used to earn Rs.5,000/- per month by working as Supervisor in a private concern, namely Gayatri Constructions, the evidence led in that behalf has been rightly discarded by the Tribunal for the sound and cogent reasons spelt out in para 11 of the impugned award. 9) We, therefore, do not find any infirmity in the assessment of the income of the deceased by the Tribunal at Rs.3,000/- per month and Rs.36,000/- per annum. 10) The claimants' dependency also has been rightly assessed by the Tribunal by deducting the usual 1/3 of the income of the deceased towards his personal expenses. 11) The multiplier of 11 selected by the Tribunal also cannot be found fault with considering that deceased Rakesh Kumar Chaturvedi was aged about 55 years on the date of the accident and the dictum of the Apex Court in the case of Sarla Verma (Smt) and Others Versus Delhi Transport Corporation and another, reported in (2009) 6 SCC 121 prescribes the multiplier of 11 for the age group between 51-55 years. 12) For the foregoing reasons, we do not find any scope for enhancement of the compensation awarded by the Tribunal either on accoynt of the assessment of the income of the deceased or the claimants' dependency by the Tribunal or the multiplier seiected. ^^ja ,^;^''^:::^^ Z^'i^. y ^ " l 13) The appeal filed by the appellants/ claimants for enhancement ofthe compensation, therefore, fails and is hereby dismissed. 14) No order as to costs. Sd/- Chief Justice Sd/- N. K. Agarwal Judge padma T