IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH FAO No.3227 of 1999 (O&M) Date of decision:15.03.2011 Uda Singh and others ....Appellants versus Sukhdev Singh ....Respondent II. FAO No.3053 of 1999 (O&M) Sukhdev Singh ....Appellant versus Uda Singh and others ....Respondents CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE K. KANNAN ---- Present: Mr. Inderjit Singh Brar, Advocate, for the appellants in FAO No.3227 of 1999 and for respondents in FAO No.3053 of 1999. None for others. ---- 1. Whether reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment ? No. 2. To be referred to the reporters or not ?No. 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the digest ? No. ---- K.Kannan, J. (Oral) 1. Both the appeals are connected, FAO No.3227 of 1999 is for enhancement of claim for compensation and FAO No.3053 of 1999 is by the owner denying liability on the ground that there was no negligence on the part of the driver. I am not prepared to examine the issue of FAO No.3227 of 1999 (O&M) - 2 - negligence in a case where the deceased was going in a scooter and there was a collision with the respondents' jeep and particularly when the Tribunal had held that the negligence of the jeep driver had been established. 2. The deceased was said to be a Cleaner, earning Rs.1,200/- per month. He was 20 years of age and the claimants were the father and the minor brothers and sisters. During the pendency of the proceeding itself, the father had died and his own major sons were impleaded as parties. The Tribunal took the dependency at Rs.400/- and adopted a multiplier of 16. The father was 65 years of age and the multiplier adopted already was high. The extent of dependency that is normally adopted is worked on the basis of projecting a life span as 67 years. The fact that the father died during the pendency of the proceedings itself would show that the choice of multiplier at 16 was high. However, it is possible to appraise the case differently as well. 3. Since the deceased belonged to a low income group and the accident had taken place after the amendment of the Motor Vehicles Act introducing Schedule-II, it is possible to apply the scale of compensation as provided by Schedule-II. If the income of the deceased was to be taken at Rs.1,200/- and 1/3rd deduction be made, the contribution to the family could have been taken at Rs.800/- and by adopting a multiplier of 17, the compensation payable will be Rs.1,63,200/-. To this will be added Rs.4,500/- towards loss to estate and funeral expenses. The total amount of compensation as payable will come to Rs.1,67,700/-. 4. Between two modes, the mode that is more beneficial to the FAO No.3227 of 1999 (O&M) - 3 - claimants could be adopted. I will, therefore, award Rs.1,67,700/- and the excess over what has been determined by the Tribunal already, shall attract interest at 6% from the date of petition till date of payment. The entitlement of the said amount shall be to Bhola Singh and Nikki, who were originally the parties as dependents on their brother and also to the major siblings Uda Singh and Chhoto, who had been impleaded as parties subsequently after the death of the father. The persons, who are minors at that time, will take twice of much of the amount awarded to the persons, who were majors and who were impleaded as legal representatives of the father. As far as the major brothers are concerned, their entitlement is secured by the fact that they are the legal heirs and as far as the minor siblings are concerned, the higher amount is also on account of the fact that they were themselves dependents on the deceased. The appeal in FAO No.3227 of 1999 is allowed and the appeal in FAO No.3053 of 1999 is dismissed. (K.KANNAN) JUDGE 15.03.2011 sanjeev