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Judgment
Sonam Phintso Wangdi, J—This Appeal seeks to assail the judgment dated 30.09.2014 passed by the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, East Sikkim at Gangtok, in MACT Case No. 806 of 2013, by which the Respondents No. 1, 2 and 3 were awarded compensation of Rs. 35,30,253/- (Rupees thirty five lakhs thirty thousand two hundred and fifty three) against their claim for the death of the deceased.
The Appeal rests on several grounds, one of which is that the Claimants-Respondents No. 1 to 3 were entitled to compensation only to the extent provided under the Employee''s Compensation Act, 1923 (for short the "Act"), thereby limiting the liability of the Appellant-Insurance Company to that extent.
Mr. Ajay Rathi, Learned Counsel, appearing on behalf of the Claimants-Respondents No. 1, 2 and 3, at the very outset fairly concedes to this and prays that the award be altered accordingly. Mr. Sudesh Joshi, Learned Advocate for the Appellant-Insurance Company, agrees to the proposal.
In view of the foregoing, nothing is left to be determined in this Appeal except to alter the award as per the provisions of the Act, in the manner following:-
The monthly salary of the deceased stands admitted at Rs. 22,306/- (Rupees twenty two thousand three hundred and six) only and the admissible amount for the purpose of working out the compensation would be Rs. 22,306.00 (-) Rs. 125.00 [professional tax] = Rs. 22,181/- (Rupees twenty two thousand one hundred and eighty one) only.
Under Section 4 of the Act as amended, 50% of the monthly wages of the deceased (employee) would be permissible to be multiplied by the relevant factor or an amount of Rs. 1,20,000/- (Rupees one lakh twenty thousand) whichever is more. The relevant factor is to be determined by the age of the deceased as provided in the Schedule IV of the Act.
In the present case, the deceased was about 44 years of age at the time of the accident the relevant factor for which provided under Schedule IV of the Act is ''172.52''. Thus, the compensation that the Respondent would be entitled to is worked out as under:-
Rs. 22181/- (�) 2 (x) 172.52 = Rs. 19,13,333.06 (Rupees nineteen lakhs thirteen thousand three hundred thirty three and paisa six)
The award passed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal is accordingly modified.
The Claimant-Respondents No. 1 to 3 shall also be entitled to interest as provided under Section 4A(3)(a) of the Act to be computed with effect from one month after the date of institution of the Claim, i.e., 06.11.2012.
The amount worked out after addition of the interest shall be divided into three equal parts as shares of the Respondents No. 1, 2 and 3. The respective portions of the Respondents No. 2 and 3 and Rs. 5,00,000/- (Rupees five lakhs) from that of the Respondent No. 1, who is the widow of the deceased, shall be deposited in Fixed Deposits for at least 5 (five) years in a Nationalised Bank. After deduction Rs. 5,00,000/- (Rupees five lakhs), the remaining amount from the portion of the Respondent No. 1 shall be deposited in a Savings Bank Account opened in her name to meet immediate needs.
In the event of any further amount being required to meet legal necessity of the family, it shall be open for the Respondents No. 1 to 3 to approach this Court for relaxation of these conditions.
With the above directions, the MAC App. stands disposed of.
Since the award is being made on the concession of the Appellant-Insurance Company, it is directed that the payment be released within 15 (fifteen) days.
A report of compliance shall be filed by the Appellant-Insurance Company as well as the Respondents No. 1 to 3 on or before 3 (three) weeks and not later than that.
Let a copy of this judgment be transmitted to the Court of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, East Sikkim at Gangtok, forthwith for compliance.