Case: Amrit Bhanu Shali  Vs. National Insurance Co. Ltd.

4. The deceased-Ritesh Bhanu Shali, son of the Ist and 2nd appellants, was going to Thanod on 20th July, 2008 by Swift Car bearing Registration No.CG-04-HA/6905 from Naharpara, Raipur, Chhattisgarh. While he was coming back at about 4.30 p.m. near Thanod, one Scorpio Car bearing Registration No.CG-04-HA/5372 coming rashly and negligently from Abhanpur dashed the Maruti Swift Car. Due to that accident, Ritesh Bhanu Shali and one Sardar Jaspreet died on the spot and another Shivam received injuries. The Ist appellant-Amrit Bhanu Shali is the father, the 2nd appellant-Smt. Sarlaben is the mother and 3rd appellant-Mamta Bhanu Shali is the sister of the deceased. Claiming to be the dependent on the deceased they filed Motor Accident Claim Case No.80/2008 before the Tribunal u/S 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (for short, ‘thefor award of compensation to the tune of Rs.25,50,000/-.5. The non-applicants, owner of the car, driver and National Insurance Company Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the) appeared and defended their case.The deceased-Ritesh Bhanu Shali, son of the Ist and 2nd appellants, was going to Thanod on 20th July, 2008 by Swift Car bearing Registration No.CG-04-HA/6905 from Naharpara, Raipur, Chhattisgarh. While he was coming back at about 4.30 p.m. near Thanod, one Scorpio Car bearing Registration No.CG-04-HA/5372 coming rashly and negligently from Abhanpur dashed the Maruti Swift Car. Due to that accident, Ritesh Bhanu Shali and one Sardar Jaspreet died on the spot and another Shivam received injuries. The Ist appellant-Amrit Bhanu Shali is the father, the 2nd appellant-Smt. Sarlaben is the mother and 3rd appellant-Mamta Bhanu Shali is the sister of the deceased. Claiming to be the dependent on the deceased they filed Motor Accident Claim Case No.80/2008 before the Tribunal u/S 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (for short, ‘ther award of compensation to the tune of Rs.25,50,000/-.5. The non-applicants, owner of the car, driver and National Insurance Company Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the) appeared and defended their case.

Court's reasoning:
17. The selection of multiplier is based on the age of the deceased and not on the basis of the age of dependent. There may be a number of dependents of the deceased whose age may be different and, therefore, the age of dependents has no nexus with the computation of compensation.The appellants produced Income Tax Returns of deceased-Ritesh Bhanu Shali for the years 2002 to 2008 which have been marked as Ext.P-10-C. The Income Tax Return for the year 2007-2008 filed on 12.03.2008 at Raipur, four months prior to the accident, shows the income of Rs.99,000/- per annum. The Tribunal has rightly taken into consideration the aforesaid income of Rs.99,000/- for computing the compensation. If the 50% of the income of Rs.99,000/- is deducted towards ‘personal and livingof the deceased the contribution to the family will be 50%, i.e., Rs.49,500/- per annum. At the time of the accident, the deceased-Ritesh Bhanu Shali was 26 years old, hence on the basis of decision in Sarla Verma (supra) applying the multiplier of 17, the amount will come to Rs.49,500/- x 17 =Rs.8,41,500/-. Besides this amount the claimants are entitled to get Rs.50,000/- each towards the affection of the son, i.e., Rs.1,00,000/- and Rs.10,000/- on account of funeral and ritual expenses and Rs.2,500/- on account of loss of sight as awarded by the Tribunal. Therefore, the total amount comes to Rs.9,54,000/- (Rs.8,41,500/- + Rs.1,00,000/- + Rs.10,000/- + Rs.2,500/-) and the claimants are entitled to get the said amount of compensation instead of the amount awarded by the Tribunal and the High Court. They would also be entitled to get interest at the rate of 6% per annum from the date of the filing of the claim petition leaving rest of the conditions mentioned in the award intact.The selection of multiplier is based on the age of the deceased and not on the basis of the age of dependent. There may be a number of dependents of the deceased whose age may be different and, therefore, the age of dependents has no nexus with the computation of compensation.The appellants produced Income Tax Returns of deceased-Ritesh Bhanu Shali for the years 2002 to 2008 which have been marked as Ext.P-10-C. The Income Tax Return for the year 2007-2008 filed on 12.03.2008 at Raipur, four months prior to the accident, shows the income of Rs.99,000/- per annum. The Tribunal has rightly taken into consideration the aforesaid income of Rs.99,000/- for computing the compensation. If the 50% of the income of Rs.99,000/- is deducted towards ‘personal and livingof the deceased the contribution to the family will be 50%, i.e., Rs.49,500/- per annum. At the time of the accident, the deceased-Ritesh Bhanu Shali was 26 years old, hence on the basis of decision in Sarla Verma (supra) applying the multiplier of 17, the amount will come to Rs.49,500/- x 17 =Rs.8,41,500/-. Besides this amount the claimants are entitled to get Rs.50,000/- each towards the affection of the son, i.e., Rs.1,00,000/- and Rs.10,000/- on account of funeral and ritual expenses and Rs.2,500/- on account of loss of sight as awarded by the Tribunal. Therefore, the total amount comes to Rs.9,54,000/- (Rs.8,41,500/- + Rs.1,00,000/- + Rs.10,000/- + Rs.2,500/-) and the claimants are entitled to get the said amount of compensation instead of the amount awarded by the Tribunal and the High Court. They would also be entitled to get interest at the rate of 6% per annum from the date of the filing of the claim petition leaving rest of the conditions mentioned in the award intact.