HSGHCOUrrOFCHHATTISGARH^TBiLASPU DIVISiON BENCH CORAIVi: HON'BLE SHRE RAJEEVGUPTA, C.J. & HON'BLESHRJRANGNATHCHANDRAKAR,J. IVIisc. ADpeai No. 1252 of 2004 Appellant : Smt. Umabai IVIahar, w/o Chaitram Clalmant Mahar, aged about 50 years, R/o Village Karkasa, P.0. Dudhali, P.S; Balod, Tehsil Daoundiiohara, district Durg(C.G.) RespQndents ^ K VERSUS 1. Rupesh Nishad s/o Fhaguram; Nishad, aged about 25 years, R/o Vill^ge Karkasa,P,0. Dudhali, P.Q: Balod, Tehsil Daoundilohara, District Durg(C.G.) 2. Gautamchand, S/o Bhawar Lal-Jain, aged about 33 years, R/o Gupta Sadan, Lohara Road, Baiod, Thana & Tehsi! Balod, District Durg (Chhattlsgarh) 3; Ashok Kumar Prabhakar, S/o Babulal Prabhakar, R/o Aamapara, Raipur, Tehsil & District Raipur (C.G.5 Present Address Maiaghori Market, Distt. Durg(C.G.) Village Near Daoundiiohara, 4. Jitendra Kumar Sahu, S/o G.R. Sahu, aged about 35 years, R/o Village Bundeli, P.S, Lohara, Tehsil Lohara, Distrjct Durg (C.G.) 5. The New india Insurance Co. Ltd. Branch Kamathi Line, Rajnandgaon Through the New india Insuranee Co. Ltd,,Board Qfliee, Power House Bhijai, Tehsil & District (Chhattisgarh). IVJisceSlaneous Appeal u/S 173 ofthe Motor Vehlcle Act. 1988 ^. <" c' Present: ShriAman Kesharwani, Gounselforthe appellants. NonefbrrespondentsNo.1,2,3&4thoughserved. Shri Shree Kumar Agrawa!, Senior Counsel with Shri AnandKumarGupta,counselforrespondentNo.5. ORDER (29tnNovember,2010) The following order of the Court was passed by Rajeev Gupta, C.J. Appellant Smt. Umabai iViahar, unfortunate mother of deceased Vjkas @ Golu is seeking enhancement of the compensation awarded by' the Additional Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Balod, district Durg (for short, 'the Tribunal') vide award dated 03.09.2004, passedin Claim Case No.36 of 2003. 2) As againstthe compensation of Rs.5,25,000/- ciaimed by the appeliant/ claimant, unfortunate mother of deceased Vikas @ Goiu; by filing a claim petition under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, for his death jn the motor acddent on 24.12.2002, the Tribuna! awarded a total sum of Rs.1,00,000/- as •-,^^..-..; ^ 1-',-,.; • ^. :^ ; ; . ••• ' -. . .; compensation along with interest @ 6% per annum from the date of filing of the claim petition tilt the date of actua! payment. 3) The Tribunal on a close scrutiny of the entire evidence led before it held that the claimant's son Vikas @ Gplu died on account of the injuries sustained by him in the motor accident on 24.12.2002; theaccident occurred due to rash and : negiigent driving of the driver of the offending vehicle Truck bearing ^ <i^ registration NO.C.G.05-ZC/0247 in which heihA/as travelling as labour; as the above offending vehicle Truck on the date of the accident was jnsured witfi the New India Insurance Company Limited and the Insurance Company could not establish any breach of the policy conditions, the Insurance Company was liable to pay cQmpensation to the claimant. 4) As fhe respondents have not filed any appeal against the award,the above findings recorded by the Tribunal have now attained finality. 5) The Tribunal considering the age of the deceased and the claimant awarded lumpsumof Rs.1,00,000/- ascompensation to theclaJmant.TtieTribunalfurtherdirectedpaymentofintereston the above amount of compensatibn of RsJ^^ annum from thedate offiling of the claim petition tijl the date of actuai payment.i 6) Shri Aman Kesharwani, learned counseS for the appellant submitted that the Tribunal has erred in not assessirig the compensationonthebasJsoftheprescribedmethodofassessjng the ineome of the ^©©eased;thg claimant's dependency; and by multiplylng the claimant's dependency wjth the apprdpriate multipjier; and in awarding lumpsum of Rs. 1,00,000/- only as compensation. v 7) Shri Shree Kumar Agrawal, learned Senior Counsel with Shri Anand Kumar Gupta, iearned counsel for respondent No.3 the New India Insurance Company Limited, on the other hand, ^.. e<. supported the award and contended that ttie compensation of Rs.1,00,000/- awarded by the Tribunat is just and proper compensation in the facts and circumstances ©fthe present case. 8) In a motor accident clajm case, what is important is that, the compensation to be awarded by the Courts/Tribunals should be just and proper compensation in the facts and circumstances of the case. It should neither be a meager amount of compensation, nor a Bonanza. 9) Now we shail examine as to whether the compensation of Rs.1,00,000/- awarded by the Tribunal is just and proper compensation in the facts and circumstances of the presentcase. 10) The Tribunat has certainly fallen intoerror in not assessing the compensation payable to the daimant on the basis of the prescribed method of assessing the income of the deceased; the claimant's dependency; and by multiplying the ciaimant's dependency with the appropriate multiplier; and in awarding lumpsum of Rs.1,00,000/- as compensation to the ciaimant mother for the death of her son in the motor aceident. We, therefore, prop6s6 to compute the compensation in the prescribed manner by assessing the income of the deceased; the claimant's dependency; and then muitipjying the claimant's dependency with the appropriate multiplier. 11) True, the claimant pieaded that her son Vikas @ Golu used to earn Rs.2,500/- permohth as Labour, the evidence led in that behaffwas not ofclinching nature. .^5 1:^ :<!<\ 12) Nevertheless, considering that dec^ased Vikas ^ Golu was aged about 19 years on the date of the accident,we are of the opinjon that he could have easily earned Rs.70-75/- per day even by working as an unskilied labour. We, therefore, propose to recompute the compensation taking the income of the deceased at Rs.2,000/- per month and Rs.24,000/- per annum. 13) As therewere ontytwo members in the family i.e. ciaimant Smt. Umabai Mahar ,and her deceased son Vikas @ Golu, dependent on the income of the deceased and the fact that the deceased was unmarried on the date of the accident, we deem it proper to deduct 50% ofthe income of the deceased towards his personal expenses. The claimant's dependency, therefore, is assessed at Rs.12,000/- per annum by deducting 50% of Rs.24,000/-towarcisthepersonal expensesofthedeceased. 14) Considering that the soleclaimant in tlre case is mother of the deceased and she was aged about 50 years on the date of the accident, we are ofthe Qpinion that multiplier of 11 wouldbe appropriate in the present case. 15) By.multiDlving the annual dependency of Rs.12,000/- with the multiplier of 11, the compensation works out to Rs.1,32,000/-. The claimant is further entitled to receive Rs.5,000/- towards funeral expensesand Rs.5,000/-fprlossofestate. Theclaimant, thus, becomes entitled to receive a total sum of Rs.1 ,42.000/- as compensatibn for the death of her son Vikas @ Goiu in the motor accident M ^ <'< 16) Learned counsel for the parties submitted that witha view to avoid any possible dispute between the parties about the period for which the claimant is entitled to reGeive interest on the enhanced amount of compensation, the amount of interest on the enhanced amount of compensation may be quantified in this appealjtself. 17) Considering all the relevant aspects of the matter, including the delay in disposal ofthe ciaim petition and the present appeal; and the fact that the Insurance Company aione is not ;to be blamed for the entire delay in the matter, we quantify theamount of interest on the enhanced amount of compensation of Rs.42,000/- at Rs.5,000/-. 18) For the foregoing reasons, the appeal filed by the appetlant/ claimant for enhancement of the compensation is aliowed in part. The compensation of Rs.1,00,000/- awarded by the Tribunal is enhanced to Rs.1,42,000/- with further qyantified amount of jnterest of Rs.5,000/- on the enhanced amount of compensation of'^s?'-42,000/-. 19) Respondent No.5- the New India Insurance Company Limlted is granted three months'time for depositing the tota! sum of Rs.47,000/- (Rs.42,000/- towards enhanced amount of compensation + Rs.5,000/- towards quantjfied amount of interest ^sss^^^ subbu onthe enhanced amount ofcompensation ofRs.42,000/-) before the conceming Claims TrJbuna!. 20)—No order as to costs. Sd/- Chief Justice ^ Sd/- ;R.N. Chandrakar Judge r7 Si .--..f "^ "'^ (^