IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT : THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE R.BASANT & THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE C.T.RAVIKUMAR TUESDAY, THE 3RD MARCH 2009 / 12TH PHALGUNA 1930 MACA.No. 1594 of 2006() ----------------------- OPMV.104/2004 of MOTOR ACCIDENT CLAIMS TRIBUNAL, KASARAGOD .................... APPELLANT(S): APPELLANTS/PETITIONERS ------------------------------------ 1. BEFATHIMA, AGED 40 YEARS, W/O.ABDULLA HAJI, PALLATHOOR HOUSE, URFOOR P.O., ADOOR VILLAGE. 2. IRFANA, AGED 22 YEARS, D/O.B.M.ABDULLA HAJI, RESIDING DO. 3. MOHAMMED ITHBAN, AGED 18 YEARS, S/O.B.M.ABDULLA HAJI, RESIDING DO. 4. MOHAMMED IBSAN, AGED 14 YEARS, S/O.B.M.ABDULLA HAJI, RESIDING DO BY ADV. SRI.T.G.RAJENDRAN RESPONDENT(S): --------------- 1. PRAKASH.K., S/O.RAGHUVEERA RAO, RESIDING AT BEEJANTHADKA HOUSE, BADIADKA, PERDALA P.O. 2. K.GANESHA, S/O.K.RAGHUVEERA RAO, SRIDEVI NILAYA, BEEJANTHADKA HOUSE, PERDALA VILLAGE AND POST. 3. THE MANAGER, UNITED INDIA INSURANCE CO.LTD., M.G.ROAD, KASARAGODE. ADV. SRI.A.R.GEORGE FOR R3 THIS MOTOR ACCIDENT CLAIMS APPEAL HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON 03/03/2009, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY PASSED THE FOLLOWING: R. BASANT & C.T. RAVIKUMAR, JJ. ------------------------------------------------- M.A.C.A. No. 1594 of 2006 ------------------------------------------------- Dated this the 3rd day of March, 2009 JUDGMENT Basant,J. The claimants before the Tribunal are the appellants before us. They are the wife and three children including one minor child of the deceased who suffered injuries in an accident which occurred on 29/6/03 and succumbed to those injuries on the date of the accident itself. The claimants claimed an amount of Rs.5 lakhs as compensation. The deceased was aged 47 years. He was an agriculturist by profession. An amount of Rs.5,000/- was claimed to be his monthly income. 2. Before the Tribunal, Exts.A1 to A6 were marked. No other evidence – oral or documentary, was adduced. The documents produced include a driving licence which shows M.A.C.A. No. 1594 of 2006 -: 2 :- that the deceased from the age of 24 years was holding a driving licence. An election identity card of the deceased was also produced to show the age of the deceased. 3. The Tribunal, on an anxious consideration of all the relevant inputs, proceeded to award an amount of Rs.1,75,500/- as per the details shown below: 1. Loss of dependency - Rs.1,56,000/- (1500 x 12 x 2/3 x 13) 2. Pain and suffering - Rs.5,000/- 3. Loss of consortium - Rs.5,000/- 4. Loss of love and affection - Rs.5,000/- 5. Funeral expenses - Rs.2,000/- 6. Loss of estate - Rs.2,500/- ------------------- Total - Rs.1,75,500/- ======== 4. The Tribunal accordingly proceeded to direct payment of the said amount of Rs.1,75,500/- along with interest at differential rates. 5. The appellants claim to be aggrieved by the impugned award. What is the grievance? Called upon to explain the nature of the challenge which the appellants want to mount against the impugned award, the learned counsel for the M.A.C.A. No. 1594 of 2006 -: 3 :- appellants submits that the Tribunal was unrealistic in reckoning the multiplicand at Rs.1,500/- per mensem. The deceased was aged 47 years. He had a family of five persons including himself depending on him. He was the holder of a driving licence. In any view of the matter, if reasonable inferences and assumptions are drawn, the Tribunal must have been held that the income of the deceased would have far exceeded Rs.1,500/- per mensem which alone is accepted by the Tribunal. 6. The learned counsel for the appellants then contends that the award of an amount of Rs.5,000/- as loss of consortium, the spouses being aged 47 years 40 years and an amount of Rs.5,000/- as loss of love and affection for the wife and three children including a minor child are both painfully low and insufficient. Having considered all the relevant circumstances, we find merit in the challenge raised. We are satisfied that Rs.2,000/- can, in the circumstances of this case, safely be reckoned as the irreducible minimum amount of monthly earnings of the deceased. We are further satisfied that an amount of Rs.15,000/- can safely be awarded as compensation for loss of consortium and Rs.10,000- for loss of love and affection. Consequently, the appellants shall be entitled to the following further amounts as compensation in addition to the M.A.C.A. No. 1594 of 2006 -: 4 :- amounts ordered by the Tribunal already: 1. Loss of dependency - Rs.52,000/- more (2000 x 12 x 2/3 x 13) = Rs.2,08,000/- minus Rs.1,56,000/-) 2. Loss of consortium - Rs.10,000/- more (Rs.15,000/- minus Rs.5,000/-) 3. Loss of love and affection - Rs.5,000/- more (Rs.10,000/- minus Rs.5,000/-) ----------------- Total Rs.67,000/- ======= Needless to say, interest shall be payable on the entire amount as directed by the Tribunal. 7. This appeal is accordingly allowed in part to the above extent. R. BASANT (Judge) C.T. RAVIKUMAR (Judge) Nan/ M.A.C.A. No. 1594 of 2006 -: 5 :-