DiVJSION BENCJ HON'BLE T.P. SKARMA, <-iUUtii>atiU h lrt,i^i)ii^<-Mft^.~> r\UMit^/d; Ei.s 1 Daiiu @ Dalli Bai. Widov>? of Late Hiralal Chauhan, Aged about 33 years 2 Kattu, S/o Late Hiraial, Aaed about 4 •y'ears 3 Chatta, S/o tate Hiralal, Aged about 3 years 4 Arjun, S'o Late Hiralal, Aged about 1 Appellants No.2, 3 & 4 are minors through guardian mother appeii'ant No.1 (Smt Daliu All resident of ViSlage Puraina, Bhiiai 3, District Durg (CG) N li Non-applicatns 2 Ram Assre Yadav, S/o Bijay Yaday, Aged sbout 3E Sairamji Town, Aadiwasi Khadon, Naypur, PS (Maharashtra) (Driver) hadur , R/o sar •-.ri-1 Mr Shailendra Sin.Qri Jassal, GE Road, Teiibandha, Raipur, District Raipur CG (Owner) The National Insurance Company Llmltcd, VsrdhlTiaH NsgSF, Bh8nd3F3 Road, Nagpur, Through - Divlsional Jt/f^.,^^^.^.. T"^^ M^~^;ft,-»/?i Ii-*—f >•'-»">..^-< iVKsnray^l,- i ii'c i^&liUllcii SiiaUtciiiL/tc Company Limited, Akash Ganaa :s~ftiss P.hHsi H^tF'ir'f Hiir^ lU^I (CG) (tnsurer) upeia, BhiSai, Dlstrict Durg snt : Shri Atanu Ghosh, counset on behalf of Shri Arvind Dubey, counse! for She appeiiants. Shri Raj Awasthy, counsel for respondent [21s" October, 2009] The following order of the Court v/as passed by Learned counsel for the parties are heard on iA No. 1/2007, a petition for condonation of the delay in filing the appeal. !) On due consideration of the submissions of learned counsei for the parties and the grounds taken in the application, we are satisfled that the appellants have succeeded in showing sufficient cause for the delav in fiiing the appeal. 3) !A No.1/2007, therefore, is allowed and the deiay of eight days in fiiing the appeal is hereby condoned. 4) Shri Atanu Ghosh, learned counse! for the appeliants Is heard on admission. 5) Appeliants are seeking enhancement of the compensation a'warded by the Seventh Additional Motor Accident Clalms Tribunal, )urg, (for s'nort 'the Tribunal') vide award dated 31.01 .2007 passed in Claim Case No.31/2005. 6) As against the compensation of Rs. 12.25.000/-, ciaimed by the appellants/claimants, unfortunate widow and minor children of deceased Hiralai Chauhan bv filsna a claim petltion under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act for hss death in the motor accldent on 25.03.2004, the Tribunal awarded a totai sum of Rs.4,21,000/- as ^^•{•••^ ^""^ ^•^^ 'i^ss-.,se^'3' compensation along with Interest @. 6% per annum from the dati of filina of the claim petition tifi the date of actual pavment. 7) Shri Atanu Ghosh, iearned counssl . for the appe!!ants vehementlv argued that the Tribunal 'nas erred in not acceptina im claimants' evidence about the income of the deceased and in assessin.g his income at Rs.3,000/- per month onlv: in selectina the lower multlplier of 17; and in awardinG iow compensation of Rs.4,21 .OOO/- onlv. i) True, the ciaimants pleaded that deceased Hiraial Chauhan used to earn Rs.10-15 thousand per month bv trading in cattie-heads. The evidence led in that behaif was not of cllnching nature. In this of evidence, we do not find any infirmity in the assessment of the income of th.e deceased by the Tribunal at Rs.3,000/- per month and Rs.36,000/- per annum. 9) The ctaimants' dependency also has been rightly assessed by the Tribunal at Rs.24,000/- per an.num by deducting 1/3ra of Rs.36.000/- towards the personai expenses ofthe deceased. 10) The muitlDlier of 17 seiecti d bv the Tribunat also cannot be found fault with considering that deceased Hiraial Chauhan, on the date of the accident v/as aged about 25 vears and his widow Dallu @ Dalli Bai was shown to be 33 years of age in the claim petition. The multiDlier of 17 is rather on the hiaher slde. 11) For the foregoing reasons.'we do not find.any scope foi enhancement of the comDensation awarded by the Tribunal. .< icima 12) The appeal fited by the appellants / claimants for enhancement of the compensation, therefore, is iiable to be dismissed and is herebv tiismissed summariiv. Sd/- Chief Justice Sd'- R-N. Chandrakar Judge