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Judgment
J.R. Midha, J.—The appellant has challenged the award of the learned Tribunal whereby compensation of Rs. 50,000/- has been awarded to claimants/respondents No. 1 and 2.
The accident dated 19th November, 1966 resulted in the death of Surendra Singh Rana. The deceased left behind his widow and minor son who filed the claim petition before the learned Tribunal.
The deceased was aged 26 years at the time of the accident and was working as a teacher with Higher Secondary School, Alipur Road, Delhi earning Rs. 220.50 per month.
The learned Tribunal has awarded the compensation of Rs. 50,000/- to claimants/respondents No. 1 and 2.
The appellant is the registered owner of the offending vehicle which was driven by respondent No. 4 and insured by respondent No. 5 at the time of the accident.
The learned Tribunal has held the liability of respondent No. 5 to be Rs. 20,000/- along with interest thereon on the ground that the liability of respondent No. 5 was limited. The remaining award amount, i.e., Rs. 30,000/- along with interest thereon has been directed to be paid by the appellant.
The appellant has challenged the impugned award on the short ground that the offending vehicle was in the ownership of respondent No. 3 and, therefore, the liability of the appellant of Rs. 30,000/- along with interest thereon should have been imposed on respondent No. 3.
The learned Counsel for the appellant does not dispute that the appellant was the registered owner of the offending vehicle at the time of the accident. In that view of the matter, the appellant is liable to pay the award amount being registered owner of the offending vehicle and there is no merit in the ground raised by learned Counsel for the appellant at the time of the hearing on this appeal.
Claimants/respondents No. 1 and 2 have filed cross-objections seeking enhancement of the award amount.
The deceased was aged 26 years at the time of the accident and was earning Rs. 220/- at the time of the accident. The deceased had permanent employment and, therefore, 50% is added towards future prospects and the income of the deceased at the time of the accident is taken to be Rs. 330/- per month. 1/3rd is deducted towards personal expenses of the deceased and the dependency of the claimants is taken to be Rs. 220/- per month. The appropriate multiplier at the age of 26 years is 17 and, therefore, by applying the multiplier of 17, the loss of dependency of the claimants is computed to be Rs. 44,880/-. Considering that the accident relates to the year 1996, Rs. 5,120/- is computed towards loss of consortium, loss of love and affection, loss of estate and funeral expenses. The total compensation is computed to be Rs. 50,000/-.
The learned Tribunal has awarded Rs. 50,000/- though for different reasons. This case is squarely covered by Section 167 of the Indian Evidence Act which provides that if the learned Tribunal has ignored some relevant evidence or has taken into consideration some irrelevant evidence, it shall not be a ground for setting aside the judgment of the learned Tribunal if on inclusion of relevant evidence wrongly excluded or exclusion of irrelevant evidence wrongly considered, the result remains the same. By applying the well settled principles of law laid down by the Hon''ble Supreme Court in the case of Sarla Verma v. Delhi Transport Corporation 2009 (6) Scale 129, the quantum of compensation in this case is computed to be Rs. 50,000/-. No ground of enhancement is made out. The award of compensation of Rs. 50,000/- by the learned Tribunal is upheld for the reasons stated hereinabove.
The appeal as well as cross-objections are dismissed.
Ms. Rajni Sharma, Manager of the appellant company is present in the Court and she submits that she has paid the principal award amount of Rs. 30,000/- as back as on 19th May, 1982 and the outstanding interest shall be paid to claimants/respondents No. 1 and 2 before this Court.
The learned Counsel for claimants/respondents No. 1 and 2 submit that they have not received the principal award amount of Rs. 30,000/-. Let both the parties file their respective affidavits and statements of account before this Court on the next date of hearing.
The payment due and outstanding according to the appellant be made before this Court on the next date of hearing. Claimants/respondents No. 1 and 2 are directed to remain present in the Court on the next date of hearing.
List on 16th December, 2009.
Copy of this order be given ''Dasti'' to learned Counsel for the parties under signatures of Court Master.