F.A.O.NO. 757 OF 2000 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH F.A.O.NO. 757 OF 2000 Date of decision:22nd November, 2010 Parkash Kaur and others .......Appellants Versus Punjab State and others ........Respondents BEFORE: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE K.KANNAN Present: Mr. G.S.Jagpal, Advocate, for Mr. R.S.Bajaj, Advocate, for the appellant. Mr. H.S.Gill, Sr. DAG, Punjab. 1. Whether Reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment? Yes/No 2. To be referred to the Reporters or not?Yes/No 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest? Yes/No K.Kannan, J.(Oral) 1. The appeal is for enhancement of compensation for the death of a Junior Engineer in Irrigation Department, Punjab who was aged 47 years and stated to be earning Rs. 8,375/- per month. The claimants were wife, two minor children and parents. The Tribunal took 1/3rd deduction on the salary proved, took the contribution to the family at Rs. 5584/- adopted a multiplier of 7 and award her a compensation of Rs. 4,69,056/-. 2. Learned counsel appearing for the claimants would urge that the Tribunal did not take into consideration the prospect of F.A.O.NO. 757 OF 2000 2 future increase in salary for a person who was in government service. The deduction taken as 1/3rd is also stated to be high for the deceased who was supporting a large family with five dependents including the parents. He would contend the appropriate deduction must have been 1/4th. 3. The modification with reference to the award shall be in the manner with the compensation as suggested in the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Sarla Verma Vs. Delhi Transport Corporation and another (2009) 6 SCC 121. I would provide for 30% increase for future prospects on increase in salary, take 10% deduction for tax, make a further deduction of 1/4th for personal expenses and adopt a multiplier of 13 instead of 7 as taken by the Tribunal. The annual dependency would be Rs. 88,188/-. On adopting a multiplier of 13, the loss of dependency would be Rs. 11,46,444/- I would add Rs. 5,000/- towards loss of consortium to the wife and Rs. 2,500/- for loss of love and affection for each minor child. I would make a further addition of Rs. 2,500/- for loss to estate and Rs. 2,000/- for funeral expenses. On the whole the total amount of compensation will be Rs. 11,60,944/- round it of to Rs. 11,61,000/-. The tabulated form of these calculations are as under:- FATAL ACCIDENTS Age 47 years Occupation Junior Engineer in Pb. Govt. Claimants Widow, two minor children and parents Heads of claim Tribunal High Court F.A.O.NO. 757 OF 2000 3 FATAL ACCIDENTS Sr. No. Amount(Rs) Amount(Rs) 1 Income 8375 8375 2 Add, % Increase 30% / 50% 30%= 2512 = 10887 less 10% for tax= 9798 3 Deduction ½, 1/3, ¼, 1//5 1/3rd 1/4th 4 Multiplicand 5584 7349 x 12 = 88188 5 Multiplier 7 13 6 Loss of dependence 469056 11,46,444 7 Medical expenses --- ----- 8 Loss of consortium, Loss of Love and Affection --- 5000 + 5000 9 Loss to estate --- 2500 10 Funeral Expenses --- 2000 Total 4,69,056 11,60,944 4. The amount which is awarded in excess over what has already been granted by the Tribunal shall attract interest at 6% from the date of the petition till the date of payment. The increase in compensation shall be distributed equally between widow, children and the mother of the deceased. The mother's share and the widow's share shall be ordered to be released forthwith. As regards the share of the minors, it shall be retained in deposit with the nationalised bank during their respective minority and the interest accruals to be paid to the widow as guardian for the minor children. 5. The award of the Tribunal shall stand modified and the appeal is allowed to the above extent. [K.KANNAN] JUDGE 22nd November, 2010 Shivani Kaushik