Case: Surekha &amp; Others Vs. The Branch Manager, National Insurance Co. Ltd

3. The Commissioner while assessing the compensation held that the income of the deceased was at Rs. 4,000/per month, took 50% of the same, and by adding Rs. 5,000/for funeral expenses quantified the compensation at Rs. 3,94,120/with interest @ 12% per annum from the date of expiry of one month of the award.

Court's reasoning:
5. The Commissioner as well as the High Court had found that the deceased was aged about 35 years at the time of his death. He had to look after his wife, child and aged parents. Though the evidence on record clarifies that the deceased was getting L 6,000/per month and Rs. 100/as daily Bhatta, the High Court without any reason assessed the income of the deceased at L 5,500/per month. The daily Bhatta earned by the deceased usually would have been spent for his personal purposes. Consequently the entire wages of Rs. 6,000/could have been utilized by him for the maintenance of his big family.6. Having regard to the totality of factors, we deem it proper to hold that the deceased was earning L 6,000/per month. In the matter on hand, the Commissioner as well as the High Court had rightly assessed the compensation by multiplying relevant factor of 197.06 with 50% of wages as mentioned supra. So also the appellants are entitled to a maximum of Rs. 5,000/towards funeral expenses as per Section 4(4) of the Act.