FAO No.393 of 2011 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH FAO No.393 of 2011 (O&M) Date of Decision : 16.11.2011 Chhota Singh and others .......Appellants Versus Surinder Singh and others .......Respondents CORAM:- HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE JITENDRA CHAUHAN Present: None for the appellant. Ms. Rajwinder Kaur, Advocate, for Mr. Tajender K. Joshi, Advocate, for respondent No.3. **** JITENDRA CHAUHAN, J. (ORAL) C.M. No.1262-63-CII of 2011 The CM applications are allowed and the delay of 177 days in filing and 248 days in refiling is hereby condoned. FAO No.393 of 2011 The claimants-appellants have come in this appeal seeking enhancement in the amount of compensation awarded vide Award dated 01.06.2009, passed by the learned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Barnala, on account of the death of deceased, Dalip Kaur, in a motor vehicular accident which took place on 24.6.2008. 1 FAO No.393 of 2011 Brief facts of the case in hand are that on 24.6.2008, the deceased along with Paramjit Kaur w/o Gulab Singh, two children of Gulab Singh and Sandeep Singh @ Soni, since deceased were returning from Dhanaula to Attar Singh Wala, on a motorcycle bearing No.PB.19.C/0560, which was being driven by Sandeep Singh @ Soni, since deceased. When they reached near Attar Singh Wala Chowk, Dhanaula, a car bearing No.PB.06.F/0006, which was being driven by respondent No.1-the driver, at a very high speed, rashly and negligently, came from the side of Bhikhi, and struck against the motorcycle and dragged it along with its occupants to a considerable distance. As a result of the accident, Dalip Kaur and other occupants of the motor cycle sustained multiple injuries. Dalip Kaur succumbed to the injuries. In this background, the claimants preferred claim petition before the learned Tribunal seeking compensation. The learned Tribunal, vide impugned Award, granted a compensation of ` 35,000/- to the claimants, after deducting 50% of the awarded amount on account of contributory negligence. Aggrieved therefrom, the claimants-appellants have preferred the present appeal, seeking enhancement. I have heard the learned counsel for the respondent No.3 and carefully gone through the record with her able assistance. A perusal of the impugned Award shows that the deceased was 70 years of age at the time the accident. The claimants are the husband, children and grandson, respectively. The value of the services rendered by the deceased is taken to be `1,000/- per month. 2 FAO No.393 of 2011 She being the experienced person in the household matters, the value of the services rendered as taken by the learned Tribunal deserves to be increased to `1,500/- per month. The grand parents make an effective and valuable contribution to the family. Therefore, the compensation on account of dependency is enhanced from `60,000/- to `90,000/- [`1,500/- X 12 X 5]. The learned Tribunal has granted an amount of `5,000/- each towards funeral expenses and loss of consortium, which in the facts and circumstances of the present case, appears to be on the lower side. Accordingly, another amount of `5,000/- each is awarded under the heads, ‘funeral expenses’ and ‘loss of consortium’. The enhanced amount of `20,000/- (after deducting 50% on account of contributory negligence) shall be paid to the claimants- appellants, in the same terms/proportion as specified in the impugned Award, within a period of 45 days from the date of receipt of certified copy of this judgment, failing which they shall also be entitled to interest @ 7.5% p.a. from the date of filing the present appeal, till its realization. The present appeal is partly allowed and the impugned Award dated 01.06.2009 is modified to the extent indicated above. ( JITENDRA CHAUHAN ) 16.11.2011 JUDGE atulsethi Note: Whether to be referred to reporter ? Yes/No 3