FAO No. 2438 of 1999 1 FAO No. 2439 of 1999 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA, CHANDIGARH FAO No. 2438 of 1999 Date of decision March 25 , 2011 Satbir ....... Appellant Versus Pirthi Raj and others ........Respondents FAO No. 2438 of 1999 Satbir ....... Appellant Versus Pirthi Raj and others ........Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE K. KANNAN Present:- Mr. Neeraj Khanna, Advocate for the appellants. Mr. Maninder Singh, Advocate for Mr. Amit Rawal, Advocate for respondent No.3. None for respondent Nos.1 and 2. Mr. Amandeep Singh, Advocate for respondent No.2 in FAO No.2438 of 1999. **** 1. Whether reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment ? No 2. To be referred to the reporters or not? 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the digest? K. Kannan, J (oral). 1. Both the appeals are connected. FAO No. 2439 of 1999 is for enhancement of claim for compensation for death of a male FAO No. 2438 of 1999 2 FAO No. 2439 of 1999 aged 40 years where the claimants were widow and five minor children. The widow gave evidence to the effect that her husband was working as a labourer in a brick-kiln and earning `3,000/-. A co-worker in the brick-kiln and a driver was examined to say that he was earning `3,000/-. The owner could not be examined. I will take `3,000/- as the probable income in a case where the deceased had a large family to support. I will provide for 1/4th deduction and take the monthly dependency at `2250/-. I will provide for `5,000/- for loss of consortium, `2500/- each for all the minor children for loss of love and affection. The compensation payable will be as tabulated below. Age Occupation 40 Claimants Widow, five children S.No. Heads of Claim Tribunal High Court 1 Income `1500/- `3000/- 2 Multiplicand 1/4th 3 Multiplier 13 15 4 Loss of dependency `4,05,000/- 5 Loss of consortium `5,000/- `17,500/- 6 Funeral expenses `5,000/- `5,000/- Total `1,82,000/- `4,30,500/- 2. The amount in excess of what has been awarded by the Tribunal shall carry interest at the rate of 6% per annum from the date of petition till the date of payment. The additional amount of compensation shall be distributed equally between the claimants. The appeal is allowed to the above extent. 3. In FAO No. 2438 the claim is for damages to the tractor and the accident by its owner. The Tribunal rejected the claim since he had admitted that he had made his own claim before the insurer and FAO No. 2438 of 1999 3 FAO No. 2439 of 1999 although he gave no proof of the fact that the claim was rejected by the insurer. Learned counsel states that at least `6000/- must be awarded which is statutorily protected for a claim by a third party against the insurer. I cannot accommodate even this plea for the appellant had definitely withdrawn the most important document namely a letter of rejection for claim of own damage. I will draw adverse inference for non production of the same. The award is confirmed and the appeal is dismissed. (K. KANNAN) JUDGE March 25, 2011 archana