Rebeka Minz & Ors vs Div. Manager U.I.I. Co. Ltd. & Ors

1. These appeals at the instance of the claimants before the Motor Accidents claims Tribunals challenge the common order of the High Court of Orissa, Cuttack dated 05.03.2009 passed in MACA No.821 of 2007 and MACA No.953 of 2007. MACA No. 821 of 2007 was preferred by the appellants while MACA No.953 of 2007 was preferred by the first respondent-Insurance company in the High Court. The husband of the first appellant died in an accident on 04.01.1995 when he was returning from the plant site on a scooter bearing registration No. OR-06-7703 around 6.30 a.m. near NALCO Nagar on NH- 42 at a place called Smelter Chhak, due to rash and negligent driving of the driver of the truck bearing registration No. ORA-4241.

2. The appellants being the wife and children of the deceased preferred the claim before the Motor Accidents Tribunal in MAC case No.21 of 1995. The Tribunal, after analyzing the entire evidence placed before it, awarded a sum of Rs. 10,08,000/- as compensation along with interest at the rate of 7% per annum with effect from 03.02.1995 to 22.08.1995 and again from 16.01.2007 till the payment within one month. While the appellants were aggrieved insofar as the Tribunal applied the multiplier 12 instead of 17, having regard to the fact that the deceased at the time of his death was 35 years old as well as non-grant of interest for certain period, the first respondent was aggrieved of the very award of compensation itself. The High Court while disposing of the appeal reduced the compensation awarded by the Tribunal and also the rate of interest by holding as under:-

5. The said part of the formula was applied in the said reported decision Santosh Devi v. National Insurance Company Ltd. & Ors.(supra) referred to above while working out the compensation payable to the claimants therein. We, therefore, follow the above referred to decisions and when the said formula is applied since the deceased was stated to be 35 years old at the time of his death, the multiplier would be 16 which has to be applied for calculating the compensation. The Tribunal after examining the materials before it, found that after deducting 1/3rd of personal expenses, the monthly income of the deceased was Rs.7,000/- and the net contribution to the family was ascertained at Rs. 84,000/- per annum. Applying the multiplier of 16, the compensation works out to Rs. 13,44,000/- . Therefore, while setting aside the order of the High Court insofar as it reduced the quantum of compensation, we modify the compensation payable to the appellants in a sum of Rs. 13,44,000/- [84,000/- x 16]. The said sum of Rs. 13,44,000/-should carry interest at the rate of 7% per annum from the date of application till the date of realization.

6. The first respondent is, therefore, directed to pay to the appellants the total amount of compensation in the sum of Rs. 13,44,000/- after giving credit to whatever payment already made by calculating the rate of interest from the date of application till realization. Such payment should be made in the proportion as set out by the Tribunal in the last para of its order dated 10.07.2007. With the above modification in the quantum of compensation and the rate of interest payable right from the date of application, the compensation shall be made within a period of three months from the date of this order. The appeals stand allowed as above.

August 23, 2012