F.A.O NO. 4142 OF 2009 -1- IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH F.A.O NO. 4142 OF 2009 DECIDED ON : 24.02.2010 Rekha Devi and others ...Appellants versus Ram Chander and others ...Respondents CORAM : HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE K. C. PURI Present : Mr. B. S. Bairagi, Advocate, for the appellants. Mr. Divay Sarup, Advocate, for respondents No.1 and 2. Mr. Pardeep Goyal, Advocate, for respondent No.3-Insurance Company. K. C. PURI, J. (ORAL) C.M NO. 19609-CII OF 2009 There is delay of 148 days in filing the appeal. The same stands condoned, on the grounds mentioned in the application. MAIN CASE This is an appeal directed by widow and three children of the deceased claiming compensation on account of death of Shamsher Singh in a motor vehicular accident. The learned Tribunal, after adjudication, accepted the claim petition and allowed an amount of Rs.4,23,000/-. The F.A.O NO. 4142 OF 2009 -2- income of the deceased was taken as Rs.3000/- per month. The monthly dependency was calculated as Rs.2000/- per month and the yearly dependency was calculated as Rs.24,000/-.The multiplier applied by the Tribunal was 17. So, in this manner, the amount calculated by the Tribunal comes to Rs.4,08,000/-. However, Rs.10,000/- was granted on account of funeral expenses and Rs.5000/- on account of loss of consortium. Learned counsel for the appellants, relying upon the authority “Smt. Sarla Verma & ors. vs. Delhi Transport Corporation & anr.” 2009 (3) RCR (Civil) 77, has submitted that the dependency should be on higher side. The Tribunal has imposed a cut of 1/3rd in the income of the deceased on account of personal expenses which would have been incurred by the deceased for maintaining himself. However, that should be 1/4th, in view of authority Sarla Verma (supra). It is further contended that no amount regarding loss of estate has been granted. Learned counsel for the respondent has submitted that as per authority Sarla Verma (supra), the multiplier at the age of deceased should be 16, whereas the Tribunal has applied the multiplier of 17. It is further contended that an amount of Rs.15,000/- has been granted on account of funeral expenses and loss of consortium which is sufficient to include the amount in respect of loss of estate. F.A.O NO. 4142 OF 2009 -3- I have given my thoughtful consideration to the rival contentions made by both the sides and have gone through the records. The income of the deceased has been taken as Rs.3000/- and that fact has not been challenged. However, the dependency has been taken as 2/3rd after deducting 1/3rd on expenses on the maintenance of the deceased. In view of authority Sarla Verma's case (supra) relied upon by learned counsel for the appellants, where the family members are 4 to 6 in that case, the dependency should be 3/4th i.e 1/4th amount should be deducted for maintenance of the deceased. In the present case, there are four claimants i.e widow and three children. So, the cut imposed by the Tribunal regarding maintenance of deceased is on higher side and the cut imposed in this regard is taken as 1/4th. So the monthly dependency in this manner comes to Rs.2250/- and the annual dependency comes to Rs.27,000/- (2250 x 12). So, by applying the multiplier of 16, the amount comes to Rs.4,32,000/- (27,000 x 16). Rs.10,000/- has been granted on account of funeral expenses and Rs.5000/- in respect of loss of consortium. However, no amount has been granted on account of loss of estate. So, another sum of Rs.5000/- is awarded on account of loss of estate. So, in this manner, the claimants are held entitle to Rs.4,52,000/-. The enhanced amount of Rs.29,000/- is ordered to be paid to the widow alone in cash, along with interest @ 7% F.A.O NO. 4142 OF 2009 -4- per annum from the date of filing the appeal till its realisation. However, the liability shall remain the same as ordered by the Tribunal. Disposed of. FEBRUARY 24, 2010 (K. C. PURI) shalini JUDGE