Smt. B Rama & Anr. vs Shiv Lal Gurjar & Ors.

This appeal under Section 173 of Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (for short “MV Act”) has been filed seeking enhancement of compensation, challenging the impugned award dated 08.12.2022 passed by the learned XII Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Raipur (Chhattisgarh) in Claim Case No. Claim Case No. 488 of 2020 whereby a total compensation of Rs.8,76.040/- has been awarded for the death of deceased.

As per the pleadings of the claim application filed under Section 166 of the MV Act, deceased B. Appa Rao died in a motor accident took place on 02.11.2020 due to rash and negligent driving of respondent no.1. Appellant no.1 is widow and appellant no.2 is son of deceased. They being legal heirs, filed claim application u/s 166 of MVA seeking a total compensation of Rs. 25 lakhs on various heads.

Learned counsel for the appellants submits that claimants have pleaded that the deceased was earning Rs.10,500/- per month by doing the job of operator in a Private Company but the learned Claims Tribunal had taken the lesser income of deceased as Rs. 7800/- per month. The amounts granted under the conventional heads are also meagre, thereby, just compensation has not been awarded. He prays that the instant appeal be allowed and the compensation awarded by the Claims Tribunal may suitably be enhanced.

Learned counsel for respondent no.3/Insurer submits that in absence of admissible evidence, the Tribunal is justified in taking the income of the deceased as per the minimum wages fixed by the Labor Commissioner, C.G., Raipur under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 and thus it has passed the just award which needs no interference.

I have heard learned counsel for the parties, considered their rival submissions and perused the record with utmost circumspection.

In absence of any admissible and clinching nature of evidence regarding income of deceased and looking to the prevalent market rates, it would be appropriate to take the monthly income of deceased to be Rs. 8960/- treating him as unskilled labour as per the the Chhattisgarh Minimum Wages applicable at the relevant time and to that extent the impugned award needs to be modified. Since the age of deceased was found to be 53 years and there are 2 dependents, following the case-law laid down by Supreme Court, the Tribunal has rightly added 10% future prospectus, deducted 1/3rd towards personal expenses and applied multiplier 11 which cannot be said to be unreasonable or unsustainable. The Tribunal has awarded a lesser sum of Rs.1,21,000/- under the other heads i.e., loss of consortium Rs.88,000/-for the two claimants, loss of estate Rs.16,500/- and funeral expenses Rs.16,500/- which needs no interference.

Thus, in the light of the above discussion and in view of the decisions of the Supreme Court rendered in National Insurance Company Ltd. Versus Pranay Sethi (2017) 16 SCC 680; Sarla Verma Vs. Delhi Transport Corporation (2009) 6 SCC 121 and Magma General Insurance Co. Ltd. Versus Nanu Ram @ Chuhru Ram (2018) 18 SCC 130 , this Court is computing the compensation as below :

In view of the aforesaid analysis, the amount of compensation of Rs. 8,76,040/- awarded by the Claims Tribunal is enhanced to Rs.9,88,328/-. Hence, after deducting the amount of Rs.8,76,040/- the appellants are held entitled for an additional sum of Rs. 1,12,288/-. The additional amount of compensation shall carry interest @ 6% per annum from the date of filing claim application before the Tribunal till its realization. Rest of the conditions of the impugned award shall remain intact.

Accordingly, this appeal is allowed in part and the impugned award is modified to the extent as indicated hereinabove.