FAO No. 723 of 1988 -1- IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH FAO No. 723 of 1988 (O&M) Date of decision : 8.2.2010 ... Mehki and others ................Appellants vs. Nur Mohd. And others .................Respondents Coram: Hon'ble Mr. Justice K.C. Puri Present: Sh. Sunil Rana, Advocate for the appellants Sh. Himanshu Raj, Assistant Advocate General, Haryana ... K.C. Puri, J. (Oral) This is an appeal directed by Mehki-mother, Hussaini- widow, Majidan, Vahidan – minor daughters, Mahbood and Sakoor – minor sons, of Nur Mohd., claiming compensation on account of death of Nur Mohd. in a motor vehicular accident with a Haryana Roadways bus bearing registration No. HRU-1035. The claimants filed a claim petition claiming Rs.1 lac on account of death of Nur Mohd. in a motor vehicular accident. The learned Tribunal after adjudication, returned the finding on issue No.1 in favour of the claimants holding that accident has taken place FAO No. 723 of 1988 -2- due to rash and negligent driving of bus No. HRU-1035 by its driver Nur Mohd-respondent. While deciding issue No.2, the income of the deceased was taken as Rs.700-800/- per month and dependency was calculated @ Rs.500/- per month and the annual dependency was taken as Rs.6,000/-. The multiplier applied was 16 and in this manner, the claimants were held entitled to claim Rs.96,000/- as compensation. Out of the said amount, Rs.10,000/- was ordered to be paid to the mother-claimant No.1 and remaining amount was ordered to be paid to the remaining claimants in equal share. Feeling dissatisfied with the said award, the present appeal has been filed for enhancement of compensation. Learned counsel for the appellants has submitted that income assessed of the deceased is on lower side and it should have been Rs.1,000/- per month. However, that contention cannot be accepted as occurrence has taken place in the year 1987. So, income of the Rs.700-800/- is correctly assessed. The multiplier of 16 applied by the Tribunal is also correct. However, in this case the claimants are six in number, including 4 minor children, widow and mother. So, the cut imposed in respect of personal expenses of deceased for his maintenance is on higher side. To support this contention, I am fortified by the authority reported as Smt. Sarla Verma and others vs. Delhi Transport Corporation and another 2009 (3) RCR (Civil) 77. In that authority, it has been held that where the number of dependent family members is 4 to 6, the deduction in respect of personal expenses regarding deceased should be 1/4th . So, in this manner, the monthly dependency FAO No. 723 of 1988 -3- comes to Rs.600/- if the income is taken as Rs.800/- per month. The yearly dependency, in this manner comes to Rs.7,200/- and by applying the multiplier of 16, the compensation is assessed as Rs.1,15,200/- . After taking into account, the funeral expenses, loss of consortium and loss of estate, the claimants are held entitled to claim Rs.1,24,700/-. The claimants, in this case have although claimed Rs. 1 lac, but the fact remains that Courts are bound to grant just compensation. So, the appeal stands partly accepted. The amount of compensation is enhanced to Rs.28,700/- more in addition to the amount awarded by the Tribunal. That enhanced amount shall be paid to the widow and children in equal share alongwith interest @ 7% per annum from the date of filing of appeal, till its realisation. The liability to pay the enhanced amount by the respondents shall be same as ordered by the Tribunal. ( K.C. Puri ) 8.2.2010 Judge chugh