FAO No.4339 of 2010 (O&M) 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH FAO No.4339 of 2010 (O&M) Date of decision: 16.11.2011 Kishan Lal and another ....Appellants Versus Rajbir and others ...Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE JITENDRA CHAUHAN Present: Mr.Arun Yadav, Advocate for the appellants Mr.Ajay Gulati, DAG, Haryana for respondent Nos. 2 to 4. Ms.Vandana Malhotra, Advocate for respondent No.5. ***** Jitendra Chauhan, J.(Oral) CM No. 18377-CII of 2010 Despite notice, reply has not been filed so far. For the reasons enumerated in the application, delay of 10 days in filing the appeal is hereby condoned. Application stands disposed of. FAO No. 4339 of 2010 The present appeal has been filed by the claimants -appellants, seeking enhancement of the amount of compensation awarded by the learned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Rewari (for short 'the Tribunal'), vide award dated 2.2.2010, on account of the death of their son in an accident on 6.8.2008. FAO No.4339 of 2010 (O&M) 2 Learned counsel for the appellants contends that the multiplier of 10 applied by the learned Tribunal is inadequate and as per the law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Smt. Sarla Verma and others Vs. Delhi Transport Corporation and another, 2009(3) RCR (Civil) 77 , the multiplier of 14 should be applied according to the age of the parents and marital status of the deceased. He further contends that learned Tribunal has awarded a sum of ` 2500/- towards medical expenses, ` 2000/- transportation charges, ` 2000/- funeral expenses and ` 25,00/- on account of loss of estate, which are on the lower side. The total compensation of `2,25,000/- was awarded to the appellants by the learned Tribunal. On the other hand, learned counsel for the respondents contend that the learned Tribunal has assessed the dependency to the extent of 2/3, which is against the law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Smt.Sarla Verma's case (supra), in case the deceased is a bachelor, dependency should be assessed to the extent of 50%. I have heard the learned counsel for the parties and perused the record carefully. From the perusal of the record, it emerges that deceased Raj Kumar, son of the appellants met with an accident on 6.8.2008 and sustained injuries. He was rushed to the hospital at Rewari. Thereafter, he was referred to AIIMS, New Delhi, where he succumbed to his injuries. He was a bachelor of 20 years at the time of his death. The learned Tribunal assessed his income at ` 36,00/- per month as per the Minimum Wages Act, which in the absence of any proof of income, is adequate. Further, it is proved on record that the deceased was unmarried at the time of his death. FAO No.4339 of 2010 (O&M) 3 The learned Tribunal applied 1/3rd cut, which is against the law laid down in Smt.Sarla Verma's. In the case of bachelor where the parents are the only dependents, the dependency should be applied to the extent of 50%. As per Smt.Sarla Verma's case, the multiplier of 14 should be applied. In the present case, the parents of the deceased, as per the claim petition, were 45 and 42 years respectively at the time of death. Accordingly, the multiplier is enhanced from 10 to 14 and the dependency is modified to the extent of 50%, the deceased being bachelor. Untimely death is a great shock to the parents. Therefore, keeping in view the facts and circumstances of the case, this Court feels that further grant of `20,000/- towards all the conventional heads would meet the ends of justice. No other point has been urged or agitated by either counsel for the parties. Resultantly, the total compensation comes to `3,22,400/-(3600 x 1/2 x 12 x 14 + 20,000 towards conventional heads). The learned Tribunal has already granted compensation to the tune of ` 2,25,000/-. The balance amount i.e. ` 97,400/- shall be paid to the appellants in the manner indicated in the impugned award within 45 days from the date of receipt of the certified copy of the judgment. If the said amount is not paid within the stipulated period, the appellants shall be 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. 16.11.2011 (JITENDRA CHAUHAN) gsv JUDGE