AO/470/2006 of SMT CHARAN DEVI and ORS Vs BHAGAT SINGH BISHT and ORS

IN THE HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHANDAT NAINITAL

Appeal From Order No. 470 of 2006

Smt. Charan Devi & others

…Appellants

Versus

Bhagat Singh Bisht & another .. Respondents

Sri D.C.S. Rawat, holding brief of Sri Lokendra Dobhal, Advocate, for appellants Sri R.B. Agrawal, Advocate, for respondent no. 2

Dated: May 5, 2008

Hon’ble B.C. Kandpal, J.

By way of this appeal, under Section 173 of Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, the appellants have challenged the impugned judgment and award dated 30.06.2006 passed by Motor Accident Claims Tribunal/Additional District Judge/7[th] Fast Track Court, Dehradun, in M.A.C. Case No. 104/2005, Smt. Charan Devi & others vs. Bhagat Singh Bisht & others.

Brief facts of the case as per the claim petition are that deceased-Jagat Singh died in an accident on 13.3.2006 while he was coming from Mussorie in Bus No. UP-08-3079, the accident took place due to rash and negligent driving of driver of bus. At the time of accident, the deceased was 45 years of age and his monthly income was Rs.5000/- from agriculture. The claimants claimed sum of Rs.11,35,000/- as compensation against opposite parties.

The opposite party no. 1-Sri Bhagat Singh Bisht, who is owner of offending bus No.UP-

08/3079, did not file his written statement inspite of sufficient service of notice upon him. Hence, an order was passed on 25.3.2006 to proceed exparte against opposite party no. 1.

The opposite party no. 2-insurance company filed written statement and denied the allegations made in the claim petition for want of knowledge. It has pleaded that at the time of accident offending vehicle was insured with it. It has further pleaded that no information of the alleged accident was given to the insurance company. The driver of the vehicle was not having valid driving licence at the time of accident. It has denied the factum of age and salary of deceased at the time of accident.

The learned Tribunal on the basis of pleadings of parties framed relevant issues in the claim petition. Parties led evidence in support of their cases. The Tribunal after having considered the material available on record and hearing learned counsel for the parties decreed the claim petition in favour of claimants for sum of Rs.1,07,000/-, payable by opposite party no. 2-New India Insurance Co. Ltd., along with an interest @ 6% per annum.

Feeling aggrieved by the aforesaid impugned judgment and award, the appellants-claimants have preferred the appeal before this Court for enhancement of compensation.

Heard Sri D.C.S. Rawat, holding brief of Sri Lokendra Dobhal, learned counsel for appellants-claimants, Sri R.B. Agrawal, learned counsel for

respondent no. 2-insurance company and perused the record.

Learned counsel for the appellants-claimants has submitted that learned Tribunal committed illegality in assessing the compensation to the claimants by holding notional income of deceased as Rs.15,000/- per annum. He has further submitted that interest @ 6% per annum as has been awarded by Tribunal is too less. Therefore, learned counsel for claimants prayed that the amount of compensation awarded by the Tribunal be enhanced by this Court.

I have gone through the impugned judgment and award thoroughly. As far as amount of compensation to be awarded in favour of claimants is concerned, it appears from the impugned judgment and award that the Tribunal has assessed the notional income of the deceased at Rs.15,000/- per annum, which appears to be on lesser side in view of the decision of the Division Bench of this Court passed in A.O. No. 2 of 2005, Shobhan Singh and another vs. New India Insurance Company and another, decided on 1.11.2006, in which the notional income has been assessed at Rs.36,000/- per annum. In the present case also, the notional income of the deceased in light of the observations made by the Division Bench of this Court in the aforesaid judgment, should be Rs.36,000/- per annum and after deducting 1/3[rd] out of it total dependency of claimants should be Rs.24,000/- per annum. The age of the deceased was 45 years at the time of accident, therefore, after applying the principle propounded by the Hon’ble Apex Court in

the cases of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation Ltd. Versus S. Rajpriya & others, reported in 2005 (4) SC 87 and The Managing Director, TNSTC versus Sripriya & others, reported in 2007(5) Supreme 301, the multiplier of ‘10’ to be adopted by this Court in the present case, would be just and reasonable. After applying the multiplier of ‘10’ total amount of compensation to be awarded in favour of claimants, comes to Rs.24,000 x 10=Rs.2,40,000/-. The amount awarded by the Tribunal under the heads of ‘loss of company’ as Rs.5000/- and ‘funeral expenses’ as Rs.2000/-, shall remain intact. The Tribunal has deducted Rs.50,000/- out of total amount of compensation on account of fact that claimants had already received sum of Rs.50,000/- from the Government. This deduction appears to be wrong and I am of the view that receiving of sum of Rs.50,000/- from the Government on account of death of deceased-Jagat Singh would not affect the total amount of compensation to be awarded in favour of claimants.

On the basis of the aforesaid discussion, I come to the conclusion that the claimants are entitled to get sum of Rs.2,97,000/- as compensation. The interest indicated in the impugned judgment and award shall remain intact.

Accordingly, appeal is partly allowed. The impugned judgment and award is modified to the extent that claimants are entitled to get compensation to the tune of Rs.1,97,000/- (Rupees One Lac Ninety Seven Thousand), instead of Rs.1,07,000/- as has been awarded by the

Tribunal. The interest indicated in the impugned judgment and award shall remain intact.

(B.C. Kandpal, J.)