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Judgment
Ilesh J. Vora, J
Being dissatisfied with the quantum of compensation awarded by the Tribunal at Ahmedabad, the original claimants have preferred the present appeal seeking enhancement of compensation.
The accident and involvement of the vehicle as well as the issue of negligence are not disputed. Deceased Govindbhai aged about 47 years old died in the alleged accident. The appellants are legal heirs of the deceased. They had filed claim petition no.900 of 1995 before the Tribunal at Ahmedabad. The Tribunal, after considering the evidence on record, assessed monthly income Rs.5,130/- of the deceased and accordingly, awarded the amount of compensation Rs.5,02,668/- with interest. The claimants have preferred the present appeal for enhancement of compensation on the ground that the Tribunal failed to consider the proper income of the deceased and therefore, the impugned award requires modification.
On the other hand, learned counsel Mr.Maulik Shelat has supported the findings of the Tribunal on the aspect of income and final determination of the dependency loss and submitted that no case is made out for enhancement of the compensation.
Having heard learned advocates for the respective parties and on perusal of the material placed on record, the issue arose for consideration is whether amount of compensation, as determined by the Tribunal, needs any enhancement. In the facts of present case, the deceased was serving as Assistant Teacher with monthly salary of Rs.6,150/- and the same was established by a certificate at Exh.31. It appears that the learned Tribunal deducted the amount of Rs.1,000/- towards the provident funds contribution. The learned Tribunal ought not to have deducted Rs.1,000/- contributed by the deceased to his G.P.F Account. Thus, in order to determine the dependency loss, the total compensation payable to the claimants as per the judgment of Pranay Shetty is as under:
Salary Rs.6,130/- + 30% prospective rise – 1/4th personal expenses (monthly dependency loss Rs.5,977/-), and applying multiplier 13 = total loss would come to Rs.9,32,412/- and in addition to that, the conventional amount Rs.70,000/- is required to be awarded and considering this, total amount of compensation comes to Rs.10,02,412/-. The Tribunal has assessed 10% negligence of the deceased which comes to Rs.1,00,241/- and after deducting the same, the net dependency loss comes to Rs.9,02,171/-. The award passed by the Tribunal is Rs.5,02,668/- and the same is required to be deducted from the total amount and therefore, the enhanced amount payable to the claimants comes to Rs.3,99,503/-.
For the reasons recorded, the claimants are entitled for the enhanced amount Rs.3,99,503/- and accordingly, the appeal is allowed in part by enhancing the aforesaid compensation. The enhanced amount shall carry at the rate of 6%. The Insurance Company shall deposit the said amount within two months from the date of receipt of this order. The Tribunal shall disburse the said entire amount without further investment in FDR. Decree be drawn accordingly.