IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) WEDNESDAY, THE FOURTH DAY OF AUGUST TWO THOUSAND AND TEN PRESENT THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE VILAS V.AFZULPURKAR MOTOR ACCIDENTS CIVIL MISCELLANEOUS APPEAL No.439 OF 2007 BETWEEN M/s. United India Insurance Co. Ltd. …APPELLANT AND K. Narayana Reddy and others. …RESPONDENTS Counsel for the Appellant: MR. K.S.N. MURTHY Counsel for the Respondents 1 to 3: MR. T. DAMODAR The Court made the following: - JUDGMENT: This appeal is by the insurance company, which was figuring as second respondent in the claim petition O.P.No.593 of 2001 before the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal – cum – VI Additional District Judge, Mahbubnagar. 2. This appeal arises out of the very same accident, which was considered in MACMA.No.438 of 2007. The claim petition involved in this appeal relates to the death of the mother-in-law of the deceased in the aforesaid appeal. The compensation of Rs.1,50,000/- was sought for in the claim petition. Under the impugned award dated 11.09.2006, the tribunal below has awarded Rs.1,25,000/- in aggregate, which is in question in this appeal at the instance of the insurance company. 3. Since all other aspects viz. evidence as well as the finding of the tribunal below with regard to rash and negligent driving by the driver of the offending vehicle are already considered in MACMA.No.438 of 2007, referred to above, and since identical evidence is subject matter of this claim petition also, the very same findings are not reiterated in this order. So far as the claim with respect to compensation is concerned, the tribunal below has taken the notional income of Rs.15,000/- per annum and has applied relevant multiplier of 8, as the deceased was aged 55 years and aggregate total compensation of Rs.1,25,000/- was granted. 4. The only contention of the learned counsel for the appellant in the present case is that 1/3rd deduction, which is required to be deducted towards personal expenses as per the second schedule under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (for short ‘the Act’) has not been applied. 5. The quantification of the amount awarded, therefore, requires to be modified only to that extent without disturbing the multiplier of 8 adopted by the tribunal below. After deducting 1/3rd from the notional income of Rs.15,000/- it would be Rs.10,000/- and applying the multiplier 8, the dependency would work out to Rs.80,000/-, as against Rs.1,20,000/- granted by the tribunal below. However, with respect to pecuniary damages the second schedule of the Act itself provides under clause (3) under different heads i.e. loss of estate and funeral expenses, the claimants are entitled to Rs.4,500/-. Therefore, the claimants are entitled to total compensation of Rs.1,24,500/-. As already directed by the tribunal, the appellant/insurance company shall pay the said amount to the claimants and shall be entitled to recover the same from the owner of the vehicle without necessity of filing a suit. However, the interest awarded at 7.5% per annum is scaled down to 6% per annum in terms of the decision of the Supreme Court in SARLA VERMA v. DELHI TRANSPORT CORPORATION[1]. The appeal is accordingly allowed in part to the extent indicated above. There shall be no order as to costs. _____________________ VILAS V. AFZULPURKAR, J August 4, 2010 DSK [1] (2009) 6 SCC 121