FAO No. 185 of 2011 -1- IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH FAO No. 185 of 2011 Date of decision: 4.11.2011 Somvati and others ....Appellants Versus Gian Chand and others ...Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE JITENDRA CHAUHAN Present: Mr.Mukesh Yadav, Advocate for the appellants None for respondent No.1. Ms.Shamsher Kaur, Advocate for respondent No.2- Insurance Company ***** Jitendra Chauhan, J.(Oral) The arguments raised by learned counsel for the appellants are that the learned Tribunal has wrongly assessed the income of the deceased as ` 35,00/- per month taking him as a casual labourer, whereas as per Notification dated 27.6.2007 issued by the Labour Department, Haryana Government under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, the income of a casual labourer has been prescribed as ` 3510/- per month. Further the multiplier of 17 applied by the learned Tribunal is also inadequate because as per the parameters laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Smt. Sarla Verma and others Vs. Delhi Transport Corporation and another, 2009(3) RCR FAO No. 185 of 2011 -2- (Civil) 77 , the same should be 18, as the deceased was 21 years of age at the time of his death as reflected in his School Living Certificate. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record carefully. From the perusal of the record, it is made out that there being no documentary proof regarding the income of the deceased, his income has been assessed as ` 35,00/- per month by taking him as a daily wager, but as per the aforesaid Notification issued by the Haryana Government under the Minimum Wages Act, the minimum wage of a casual labourer has been prescribed as ` 3510/-. Therefore, the income of the deceased is to be considered as per the said Notification. Further, the multiplier of 16 applied by the learned Tribunal is also on the lower side because as per Smt.Sarla Verma's case, the same should be 18, as the deceased was 21 years of age at the time of his death, which is made out from Ex.P8, the School Living Certificate. I order accordingly. The dependency of 1/3rd taken by the learned Tribunal is adequate as there are three dependents. The amount awarded under the conventional heads is just and reasonable. In view of the above, the total compensation works out to be ` 5,05,440- (3510 x 2/3 x 12 x 18). The learned Tribunal awarded a sum of ` 4,76,000/-. As such the balance amount i.e. ` 29,440/- shall be paid to the appellants/claimants in the manner indicated in the impugned award within 45 days from the date of receipt of the certified copy of this judgment. If the said amount is not paid within the stipulated period, the appellants are also FAO No. 185 of 2011 -3- entitled to get interest @ 7.5 % per annum from the date of filing of the appeal, till its realisation . In view of above, the present appeal is partly allowed with the modification indicated above. 4.11.2011 (JITENDRA CHAUHAN) gsv JUDGE