IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA FAO No. 578 of 2008 Date of decision : 13.7.2011. The New India Assurance Company …Appellant Versus Smt. Durgu and others …Respondents Coram The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Deepak Gupta, Judge. Whether approved for reporting?1 No. For the Appellant: Mr. B.M.Chauhan, Advocate. For the respondent No.1: Mr. Naveen Kumar Bhardwaj, Advocate. For the respondent No.2: Mr. Vivek Thakur, Advocate. Deepak Gupta, J.(Oral) 1. This appeal by the Insurance Company is directed against the award of the learned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Chamba passed in Mac. No. 32/2008/07 decided on 2.8.2008 whereby he awarded compensation of Rs.3,77,000/- alongwith interest @ 7½% per annum from the date of filing of the petition till the deposit of the awarded amount. 2. The Insurance Company had sought and was granted permission to contest the claim on all grounds and has now challenged the award only on the question of quantum. 1 Whether the reporters of the local papers may be allowed to see the Judgment? yes. 2 3. The undisputed facts are that the deceased was 23 years old. The claimant is his mother and the deceased was her only son. The learned trial Court assessed the income of the deceased at Rs.3000/- per month and came to the conclusion that the dependency of the mother would be 2/3rd i.e. Rs.2000/- per month and applied a multiplier of 13. In addition to this he awarded Rs.15,000/- for funeral expenses and Rs.50,000/- for loss of love and affection i.e. Rs.3,77,000/- in all. 4. The Apex Court in Sarla Verma and others vs. Delhi Transport Corporation and another, (2009) 6 SCC 121 has clearly held that in cases where the deceased is an unmarried person, normally 50% should be taken to be the expenses of the deceased and the dependency of the claimant(s) should be assessed at 50%. It has repeatedly been held that while determining the multiplier the age of the claimant or the deceased whichever is higher has to be taken into consideration. It is not disputed that the mother was about 60 years old and therefore, the relevant multiplier in accordance with Sarla Verma’s case (supra) would be 9. The only disputed question is the income of the deceased. The mother claimed that the deceased was earning Rs.4,000/- per month. 3 However, the learned Tribunal applying the minimum wages held that the deceased must have been earning Rs.3,000/- per month. The learned Tribunal did not take into consideration the future prospects and the statement of the mother on which there was virtually no cross-examination. Therefore, I assess the income of the deceased at Rs.4,000/- per month. The dependency, therefore, works out to Rs.2,000/- per month or Rs.24,000/- per year and loss of dependency by applying the multiplier of 9 works out to Rs.2,16,000/-. The claimant is also held entitled to Rs.10,000/- for funeral expenses and a sum of Rs.24,000/- is awarded as conventional compensation. A higher sum is being awarded in this case because of the fact that the deceased was the only son of the claimant. Therefore, the award is reduced from Rs.3,77,000/- to Rs.2,50,000/-. However, it shall carry interest @ 9% per annum from the date of filing of the petition till the amount is deposited. The appeal is disposed of accordingly. No costs. 13th July, 2011 ( Deepak Gupta ) ™ Judge.