Case: Hardeep Kaur & Another Vs. State of Punjab & Another

Jaganmohan Reddy, J.1. This is an appeal by special leave against the judgment of the Punjab and Haryana High Court which interfered and reduced the compensation awarded by the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Punjab by Rupees 24,000/-.2. The appellants are the parents of one Gurdeep Singh who, while he and his fiance were going on a scooter was knocked down by a P.W.D. Lorry belonging to the Government of Punjab and was killed. It is not denied that Gurdeep Singh was working in England and was earning $ 18-13-8 per week. He came home to get married and, as stated above, died in the accident. The parents of Gurdeep Singh filed a Claim Petition. His fiance also filed a claim petition but did not pursue it. Both the Tribunal as well as the High Court found that the driver of the P.W.D. truck was negligent, that Gurdeep Singh was earning $18-13-8 per week that he was 25 years of age and that the span of life of his parents would be 60 to 65 years and that compensation to be awarded should be calculated on the basis of 20 years capitalisation of the amounts which he would be sending to his parents. While the Tribunal thought, though the evidence showed that the deceased was sending Rs.800/- per month, the amount that he would have sent to his parents, having regard to the fact that he would have been married and would have a family could reasonably be estimated as Rupees 400/- per month. The High Court calculated the compenation that one-third of his earnings per month, which was Rupees 1000/-, would be sent. This it fixed at Rs.300/- per month. On the basis of Rs.400/- per month, it is not denied that 20 years capitalisation would be Rs.96,000/- which was the amount awarded by the Tribunal; on the basis that Rs.300/- would be sent the compensation would be Rs.72,000/-.3. In our view, the High Court has committed a factual error in assuming that the earnings of Gurdeep Singh were Rupees 1,000/- per month while in fact it has accepted the Tribunals finding that he was earning $18-13-8 per week which would come to Rs.1,500/- per month. If this fact was taken into consideration and the High Court had not committed the error of taking the earnings of the deceased at Rs.1,000/- per month, it would have certainly confirmed the compensation awarded by the Tribunal.

Decision reasoning: 1[ds]3. In our view, the High Court has committed a factual error in assuming that the earnings of Gurdeep Singh were Rupees 1,000/per month while in fact it has accepted the Tribunals finding that he was earningper week which would come to Rs.1,500/per month. If this fact was taken into consideration and the High Court had not committed the error of taking the earnings of the deceased at Rs.1,000/per month, it would have certainly confirmed the compensation awarded by the Tribunal.