High CourtsSingle Bench

Bajaj Allianz Gen. Ins. Co. Ltd. @APPELLANT@Hash Ghulam Mohi-Ud-Din And Another.

Jammu And Kashmir High Court · Decided on 26 July 2018 · Citation: (2018) 07 J&K CK 0093

HON’BLE JUDGES
Sanjeev Kumar, J
ACTS & SECTIONS REFERRED
Jammu and Kashmir State Ranbir Penal Code, 1989 — Section 279, 304A, 337, 338 · Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Section 149(2), 170
RESULT
Disposed Off
CASE NUMBER
Miscellaneous Appeal No.313, 273, 314, 275, 317 Of 2012 With Cross Appeal No.2 Of 2013, Cimiscellaneous Appeal No.318, 276 Of 2012
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Judgment

262 paragraphs · 4,679 words

,,

On the fateful day of May 04, 2009 a motor vehicle type Matador bearing registration No.JK06-1075 owned by one Alam Geer (owner) and insured",,

with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance company Ltd.( Insurance Company) met with an accident at Bhadarkoot at 7.30 a.m. while it was going from,,

Kishtwar to Palmar. The offending vehicle was carrying 36 passengers at the time of accident. As a result of the accident, the offending vehicle",,

rolled down about 400-500 feet from the road. Some of the passengers died on spot and some suffered critical injuries. The injured were shifted to,,

Government Hospital, Kishtwar and subsequently to Govt. Medical College Hospital, Jammu for further treatment. An FIR regarding the accident",,

was also registered as FIR No.62/2009 for the offences under Section 279/337/338 and 304-A RPC at Police Station, Kishtwar.Â",,

The legal representatives/heirs of the victims of the accidents who died on spot or later succumbed to the injuries filed their claims. It is stated that 27,,

claim petitions were filed before the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Kishtwar whereas 05 claim petitions were filed before the Motor Accident",,

Claims Tribunal, Jammu. The aforesaid claim petitions also included one claim petition filed by the injured.Â",,

 The 05 claim petitions which were filed before the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Jammu (hereinafter referred to as “the Tribunalâ€) were",,

clubbed together and decided by a common award passed on 18.04.2012. It is this award of the Tribunal which is challenged by the appellant-,,

Insurance Company by filing 05 different appeals. Dissatisfied with the amount of compensation the claimants have also preferred appeals seeking,,

enhancement to the amount of compensation. The appeals filed against the award passed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Kishtwar and",,

Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Jammu have arisen out of the single motor vehicular accidents, as such, all the appeals were heard together. Since",,

the instant appeals have arisen out of the common award passed by the Accident Claims Tribunal, Jammu as these appeals are decided by this",,

common judgment.,,

 Learned counsel appearing for the parties were heard at length.,,

 During the course of arguments Sh. Vishnu Gupta, learned counsel appearing for the appellant-Insurance Company, highlighted and stressed the",,

following grounds to assail the impugned award:-,,

a) The findings returned by the Tribunal on issue No.4 that the driverZakir Hussain was holding a valid driving license on the date of accident are,,

erroneous and contrary to the evidence on record.,,

b) The offending vehicle was overloaded and against the seating capacity of fifteen, it was carrying thirty six passengers. This aspect has not been",,

correctly appreciated by the Tribunal.,,

c) The amount of compensation paid to the claimants as also the interest is exorbitant.,,

 The first two grounds have already been dealt with in the judgment passed in the appeals filed by the Insurance Company against the award passed,,

by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Kishtwar and have been decided against the appellant-Insurance Company. What was held in the aforesaid",,

judgment dated 25.07.2018 passed in a batch of appeals, lead case being MA No.135/201 would hold good in those matters also. However, the",,

quantum of compensation payable to claimants in each case shall depend upon the evidence led and the determination of question of fact and law,,

raised in cross-appeals.,,

On the issue of quantum of compensation held payable to the claimants, challenge to the award by the appellant-Insurance Company on quantum has",,

been resisted by the learned counsel for the claimants on the ground that the Insurance Company cannot challenge the award on quantum in the,,

absence of permission granted by the Tribunal under Section 170 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. It is submitted that for seeking permission to",,

contest the claim petition on quantum in terms of Section 170 of the Motor Vehicles Act, the Insurance Company has to satisfy the Tribunal that",,

owner and the driver are in collusion with the claimants or that the owner is not contesting the claim or has been set ex-parte. It is, thus, urged that in",,

the absence of such permission, the Insurance Company can only take defences that are available to it under Sub Section 2 of Section 149 of the",,

Motor Vehicles Act. Reliance in this regard has been placed by learned counsel for the claimants on the following judgments:-,,

i) 2002 ACJ 1950 SC; National Insurance Co. ltd. v. Nicolletta Rohtagi Â,,

ii) 2000 ACJ 801 SC; Rita Devi v. New India Assurance company Ltd.,,

iii) 2005 ACJ 777 SC; Chinnama George v. N.K.Raju  iv) 2013 ACJ 2418 SC; Josphine James v. United India Insurance Co. ltd. and anr.,,

 On the other hand, learned counsel appearing for the Insurance Company stated that the aforesaid judgments would have no application in the",,

instant case as the Insurance Company had sought specific permission to contest the claim petition on all grounds in terms of Section 170 of the,,

Motor Vehicles Act and the same was also granted by the Tribunal. With a view to verify the veracity of the statement made, I went through the",,

record of the Tribunal and found that the appellant-Insurance Company had filed a specific application seeking permission to contest the claim petition,,

on quantum in terms of Section 170 of the Motor Vehicles Act and the same was allowed by the Tribunal vide its order dated 25.09.2010.,,

 That being so, contention of the learned counsel for the claimants that the Insurance Company cannot assail the award on quantum, is not tenable.",,

 In the aforesaid claim petition one Shagufta Wahid died in the accident in question. At the time of accident she was 32 years old. It is claimed that,,

she was employed in Education Department and was drawing a gross monthly salary of Rs.11,722/-. It was also claimed before the Tribunal that she",,

was doing private tuitions also apart from doing other household works and was earning Rs.5000 to Rs.7000/- per month besides receiving her salary.,,

The claimant who is husband of the deceased claimed a compensation of Rs.56,00,000/- under different heads. Since the claim petition was contested",,

by the appellant-Insurance Company, as such, a specific issue in this regard was framed and the burden of proof whereof was put on the claimants.",,

In order to prove the aforesaid issue claimant have led their evidence.Â,,

 On appreciation of evidence, the Tribunal found that the income of the deceased at the time of accident was Rs.11,722/-. Taking the age of the",,

deceased as 34 years, as indicated in the post mortem report, applying the guidelines as laid down in the case of Sarla Verma v. Delhi Transport",,

Corporation and anr;AIR 2009 SC 3104, the Tribunal added 50% to the income of the deceased towards future prospects and accordingly, applying",,

the multiplier of 14, computed the loss of dependency to the tune of Rs.14,76,972/-,which was rounded off to Rs.14,77000/-. The Tribunal awarded",,

the following compensation to the claimants:-Â,,

 Loss of dependency   Rs.14,77,000/-",,

 Funeral Expenses    Rs. 5,000/-Â",,

S.No.,Heads,Calculation

1.,Salary,Rs 9520 per month

2.,50% of (i) above to be added as future prospects,"Rs 9520 + Rs 4760) = Rs 14,280

per month

3.,¼th of (ii) deducted as personal expenses of the deceased,"(Rs 14,280 − Rs 3570) = Rs 10,710

per month

4.,Compensation after multiplier of 16 is applied,"(Rs 10,710 × 12 × 16) = Rs

20,56,320

5.,Loss of consortium,"Rs 1,00,000

6.,Loss of care and guidance for minor children,"Rs 1,00,000

7.,Funeral Expenses,"Rs 25,000

,Total Compensation Awarded,"Rs.22,81,320

 The amount will carry interest @ 7.5% as awarded by the Tribunal from the date of the filing of the petition viz. 26-11-2007 till realisation.â€​,,

 On the conspectus of judicial precedent on the issue it is now no longer res integra that the benefit of revision and enhancement of salary of the,,

victim of accident can be taken into consideration, if the revision of pay scale takes place though subsequent to the death but with retrospective effect",,

covering the date of death of such victim. The subsequent prospective revision of pay scales resulting in enhancement of salary of the deceased,",,

which takes place after the death of the deceased employee, however, cannot be considered and as rightly held in Sarla Verma’s case, the said",,

increase in salary would subsume in head “loss of future prospectsâ€​.Â,,

 In view of the clear mandate of law, facts of each case are required to be seen.",,

 In the instant case, the accident occurred on 04.05.2009 and the pay revision pursuant to the recommendations of the 6th Pay Commission was",,

implemented by the Government vide SRO 93 of 2009 which came to be issued on 15.04.2009 i.e. prior to the date of death of the deceased and the,,

benefit of pay revision was given retrospectively w.e.f. 01.01.2006.,,

 That being so, the Tribunal ought to have taken into consideration the revision of salary of the deceased as would have been payable to him on",,

04.05.2009 in view of the retrospective revision. The claimant had specifically pleaded in his claim petition the factum of revision of pay scale and had,,

sufficiently indicated the corresponding revised pay. This has not been rebutted by the appellant-Insurance Company by leading any contrary,,

evidence.,,

 That being so, the Tribunal was not correct in declining the claim of the claimant on account of revised salary, more so when the same Tribunal in",,

another case titled Leela Devi and others v. Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co. Ltd. and another has held to the contrary and given the benefit of,,

revised salary to the claimants by taking into consideration the enhanced salary for computing loss of dependency. From the perusal of the Award,,

of the Tribunal, it is not discernible as to how the learned Tribunal drew distinction between the case in hand and the case of Leela Devi when both",,

the cases were apparently identical and similarly placed. Reliance placed by the Tribunal on Sarla Verma’s case to deny the claim of revision,,

of pay is misconceived. At the cost of repetition, it may be stated that in Sarla Verma’s case, the Supreme Court had only held that the benefit of",,

pay revision that takes place after the death and during pendency of the claim petition or appeal cannot be taken note of and the compensation head,,

“future prospects†would take care of the aforesaid aspect. The Supreme Court, however, did not hold that the pay revision which though takes",,

place after the death but with retrospective effect covering the date of death of the deceased employee should also be ignored while computing the,,

loss of income/dependency.Â,,

 In view of the above, taking the monthly income of the deceased as Rs.14,957/- which is rounded off to Rs.14,960/- and adding 50% on account of",,

loss of future prospects, the monthly income comes to Rs.22,440/-. Deducting 50% on account of personal living expenses, the net income of the",,

deceased would come to Rs.11,220/-. Applying the multiplier of 16 as prescribed in the case of Sarla Verma (supra), the loss of dependency would",,

come to Rs.21,54,240/- (11220 x 12 x 16).",,

 Having held thus and for the reasons stated above, the award passed by the Tribunal needs to be modified in the following manner.Â",,

 The award of the Tribunal is, therefore, modified in the following manner:-",,

 Loss of dependency    Rs.21,54,240/-",,

 Loss of consortium to husband   Rs. 40,000/-",,

 Loss of estate     Rs.15,000/-",,

Funeral expenses     Rs. 15,000/- Â",,

Total       Rs.22,24,240/-",,

The claimant is held entitled to the aforesaid amount of compensation along with interest as has been awarded by the Tribunal. The appeal of the,,

Insurance Company is dismissed. The appeal filed by the claimant shall stand allowed to the extent aforesaid.,,

In the instant case the claimants before the Tribunal were widow and minor children of the deceased- Shakeel Nawaz who died in the accident in,,

question. It was claimed that at the time of accident he was 37 years old. It is claimed that he was employed as teacher in the Education Department,,

and was getting a monthly salary of Rs.14,469/-. The claimants, thus, lodged a claim for compensation of Rs.65,12,832/- under different heads. Since",,

the claim petition was contested by the appellant-Insurance Company, as such, a specific issue in this regard was framed and the burden of proof was",,

placed on the claimants. In order to prove the aforesaid issue claimants led their evidence.Â,,

 On appreciation of evidence, the Tribunal found that the income of the deceased at the time of accident was Rs.14469/-, as has been proved by the",,

Salary certificate issued by the competent authority. Taking the age of the deceased as 37 years, as in Secondary School Examination Certificate",,

issued by the State Board of School Education the date of birth has been indicated as 18.10.1971, applying the guidelines as laid down in the case of",,

Sarla Verma (supra), the Tribunal added 50% to the income of the deceased towards future prospects and accordingly, applying the multiplier of 13,",,

computed the loss of dependency to the tune of Rs.22,57,112/-,which was rounded off to Rs.22,58,000/-. The Tribunal awarded the following",,

compensation to the claimants:-Â,,

 Loss of dependency   Rs.22,58,000/-",,

 Funeral Expenses    Rs. 5,000/-",,

Loss of Estate    Rs.10,000/-",,

 Loss of consortium   Rs.10,000/-",,

 Total     Rs.22,83,000/-",,

 Award of the Tribunal has been assailed by the appellant-Insurance Company on the ground that the same is exorbitant as the Tribunal has,,

wrongly enhanced the income of deceased by 50%.,,

 On the other hand, learned counsel for the claimant submits that the Award of the Tribunal is required to be enhanced on the ground the Tribunal",,

has not taken into consideration revision of pay of the deceased on account of implementation of 6th Pay Commission report by the State,,

Government. It is also submitted that the Tribunal has wrongly applied the multiplier of 13 instead of 15, as has been prescribed by the Supreme Court",,

in the case of Sarla Verma (supra).,,

 I have carefully gone through the award of the Tribunal and the evidence on record and find that the Tribunal has erred in declining benefit of pay,,

revision while working out loss of dependency and also in applying the multiplier of 13 instead of 15, as has been prescribed in the case of Sarla",,

Verma (supra). The death in this case took place on 04.05.2009 and the pay revision was effected vide SRO 93 of 2009 retrospectively w.e.f.,,

01.01.2006. As discussed above, the claimants are entitled to the benefit of revision for the purposes of computing the loss of income/dependency.",,

Since the dependent family members were three, hence the Tribunal was correct in deducting 1/3rd on account of personal living expenses. The",,

Tribunal has rightly added 50% to the income of the deceased on account of loss of future prospects. The amounts paid under the heads of loss of,,

consortium, loss of estate and funeral expenses are on lower side and to bring them in tune with the law laid down by the Supreme Court in the case",,

of Pranay Sethi (supra) are required to be enhanced.,,

 The income of the deceased after revision of salary comes to Rs. 17,900/- i.e. Rs.13500/- (10700+2800) + 22% DA (Rs.2970/-) + CA Rs.455/- +",,

Medical Allowance Rs.300/- + House Rent Allowance @ 5% Rs. 675/-. Therefore, adding 50% towards future prospects the monthly income would",,

come to Rs.26,850/-. Deducting 1/3rd on account of personal living expenses, the net monthly income of the deceased comes to Rs.17,900/-.",,

Applying the multiplier of 15 as has been indicated in Sarla Verma’s case, the loss of dependency would come to Rs.32,22,000/-. The amounts",,

granted on account of other heads are on the lower side and are required to be increased to bring them in tune with the settled legal position by the,,

Supreme Court in the case of Pranay Sethi (supra).,,

 The award of the Tribunal is, therefore, modified in the following manner:-",,

 Loss of dependency    Rs.32,22,000/-",,

 Loss of consortium to wife   Rs. 40,000/-",,

 Loss of estate/love and affection  Rs.15,000/-",,

Funeral expenses    Rs. 15,000/-",,

Total      Rs.32,92,000/-",,

The claimants are held entitled to the aforesaid amount of compensation along with interest as has been awarded by the Tribunal. The appeal of the,,

Insurance Company is dismissed. The appeal filed by the claimant shall stand disposed of in the above terms.,,

MA No.316/2012,,

In the instant case the claimants before the Tribunal were widow, three children and mother of the deceased Suram Chand who died in the accident",,

in question. It was claimed that at the time of accident he was 53 years old. It is claimed that the deceased was employed as Lecturer in the,,

Education Department and was getting a monthly salary of Rs.20,697/-. The claimants, thus, lodged a claim for compensation of Rs.31,00,000/- under",,

different heads. Since the claim petition was contested by the appellant-Insurance Company, as such, a specific issue in this regard was framed and",,

the burden of proof was on the claimants. In order to prove the aforesaid issue claimants led their evidence.Â,,

 On appreciation of evidence, the Tribunal after deducting income tax at the rates applicable, assessed the income of the deceased at the time of",,

accident was Rs.23,800/- after revision of salary. Taking the age of the deceased as 53 years, as indicated in the date of birth certificate placed on",,

record and applying the multiplier of 13, computed the loss of dependency to the tune of Rs.22,57,112/-,which was rounded off to Rs.22,58,000/-. The",,

Tribunal awarded the following compensation to the claimants:-Â,,

 Loss of dependency   Rs.22,58,000/-",,

 Funeral Expenses    Rs. 5,000/- Â",,

Loss of Estate    Rs.10,000/-",,

 Loss of consortium   Rs.10,000/-",,

 Total     Rs.22,83,000/- Â",,

 I have carefully gone through the award and the evidence available on record and find no infirmity in the award of the Tribunal. Hence the appeal,,

of the appellant is dismissed and the award of the Tribunal is upheld.Â,,

MA No.317/2012,,

c/w,,

Cross Appeal No.2/2013,,

In the instant case the claimants before the Tribunal were widow and minor daughter and parents of the deceased- Subash Chander, who died in the",,

accident in question. It was claimed that at the time of accident he was 36 years old. It is claimed that he was employed as Lecturer in the Education,,

Department and was getting a monthly salary of Rs.21,392/- . The claimants, thus, lodged a claim for compensation of Rs.67,28,424/- under different",,

heads. Since the claim petition was contested by the appellant-Insurance Company, as such, a specific issue in this regard was framed and the burden",,

of proof was placed on the claimants. In order to prove the aforesaid issue claimants led their evidence.Â,,

 On appreciation of evidence, the Tribunal found that the income of the deceased at the time of accident was Rs.21,392/-, as has been proved by",,

the Salary certificate issued by the competent authority and after deducting of income tax, the income of the deceased was assessed as Rs.21,000/-.",,

Taking the age of the deceased as 36 years, as indicated in Secondary School Examination Certificate issued by the State Board of School Education,",,

the Tribunal added 50% to the income of the deceased towards future prospects. Since the deceased left behind widow, minor child and old parents,",,

1/4th deduction was made on account of personal and living expenses of the deceased. Accordingly, applying the multiplier of 15, computed the loss",,

of dependency to the tune of Rs.36,86,000/-,which was rounded off to Rs.22,58,000/-. The Tribunal awarded the following compensation to the",,

claimants:-Â,,

 Loss of dependency   Rs.36,86,000/-",,

 Funeral Expenses  Rs. 5,000/-",,

 Loss of Estate    Rs.10,000/-",,

 Loss of consortium   Rs.10,000/-",,

 Total     Rs.37,11,000/-",,

 Award of the Tribunal has been assailed by the appellant-Insurance Company on the ground that the same is exorbitant.Â,,

 On the other hand, learned counsel for the claimant submits that the Award of the Tribunal is required to be enhanced on the ground the Tribunal",,

has not taken into consideration revision of pay of the deceased on account of implementation of 6th Pay Commission report by the State,,

Government. It is submitted that the claimants have produced the revised salary certificate of the deceased and same stands proved. It is also,,

submitted that the Tribunal has wrongly applied the multiplier of 13 instead of 15, as has been prescribed by the Supreme Court in the case of Sarla",,

Verma (supra).,,

 I have carefully gone through the award of the Tribunal and the evidence on record and found that the Tribunal has erred in declining benefit of,,

pay revision while working out loss of dependency and also in applying the multiplier of 13 instead of 15, as has been prescribed in the case of Sarla",,

Verma (supra). Since the dependent family members were three, hence the Tribunal was correct in deducting 1/4th on account of personal living",,

expenses. The Tribunal has rightly added 50% to the income of the deceased on account of loss of future prospects. The amounts paid under the,,

heads of loss of consortium, loss of estate and funeral expenses are on lower side and to bring them in tune with the law laid down by the Supreme",,

Court in the case of Pranay Sethi (supra) are required to be enhanced.,,

The income of the deceased after revision of salary as has been indicated in the revised salary certificate placed on record comes to Rs. 27,232/-.",,

The income of the deceased would certainly be taxable as such Rs.532/- should be deducted on account of income tax. Therefore, the net income of",,

the deceased would come to Rs.26700/-. Adding 50% towards future prospects the monthly income would come to Rs.40,050/-. Deducting 1/4thÂ",,

on account of personal living expenses, the net monthly income of the deceased comes to Rs.30,038/-, which is rounded off to Rs,30,000/-.",,

Applying the multiplier of 15 as has been indicated in Sarla Verma’s case, the loss of dependency would come to Rs.54,00,000/- (30,000 x12 x",,

15). The amounts granted on account of other heads are on the lower side and are required to be increased to bring them in tune with the settled legal,,

position by the Supreme court in the case of Pranay Sethi (supra).,,

 The award of the Tribunal is, therefore, modified in the following manner:-",,

 Loss of dependency    Rs.54,00,000/-",,

 Loss of consortium to wife   Rs. 40,000/-",,

 Loss of estate/love and affection  Rs.15,000/-",,

 Funeral expenses     Rs. 15,000/- Â",,

Total       Rs.54,70,000/-",,

The claimants are held entitled to the aforesaid amount of compensation along with interest as has been awarded by the Tribunal. The appeal of the,,

Insurance Company is dismissed. The appeal filed by the claimants shall stand disposed of in the above terms.Â,,

CIMA No.318/2012,,

c/wÂ,,

CIMA No.276/2012,,

In the instant case the claimants before the Tribunal were widow and minor children of the deceased- Naseer Ahmed who died in the accident in,,

question. It was claimed that at the time of accident he was 35 years old. It is claimed that he was employed as teacher in the Education Department,,

and was getting a monthly salary of Rs.14,423/-. The claimants, thus, lodged a claim for compensation of Rs.57,84,000/- under different heads. Since",,

the claim petition was contested by the appellant-Insurance Company, therefore, a specific issue in this regard was framed and the burden of proof",,

was on the claimants. In order to prove the aforesaid issue claimants led their evidence.Â,,

 On appreciation of evidence, the Tribunal found that the income of the deceased at the time of accident was Rs.14469/-, as has been proved by the",,

Salary certificate issued by the competent authority. Taking the age of the deceased as 35 years, as in Secondary School Examination Certificate",,

issued by the State Board of School Education the date of birth has been indicated as 10.01.1974, applying the guidelines as laid down in the case of",,

Sarla Verma (supra), the Tribunal added 50% to the income of the deceased towards future prospects, deducting 1/3rd towards personal and living",,

expenses of the deceased, and applying the multiplier of 14, computed the loss of dependency to the tune of Rs.19,19,008/-,which was rounded off to",,

Rs.19,20,000/-. The Tribunal awarded the following compensation to the claimants:-Â",,

 Loss of dependency   Rs.19,20,000/-",,

 Funeral Expenses    Rs. 5,000/-",,

Loss of Estate    Rs.10,000/-",,

 Loss of consortium to widow  Rs.10,000/-",,

 Total     Rs.19,45,000/-",,

 Award of the Tribunal has been assailed by the appellant-Insurance Company on the ground that the same is exorbitant as the Tribunal has,,

wrongly enhanced the income of deceased by 50%. It is also submitted that the interest awarded by the Tribunal is on the higher side.,,

 On the other hand, learned counsel for the claimant submits that the Award of the Tribunal is required to be enhanced on the ground the Tribunal",,

has not taken into consideration revision of pay of the deceased on account of implementation of 6th Pay Commission report by the State,,

Government. It is also submitted that the Tribunal has wrongly applied the multiplier of 14 instead of 16, as has been prescribed by the Supreme Court",,

in the case of Sarla Verma (supra).,,

I have carefully gone through the award of the Tribunal and the evidence on record and found that the Tribunal has erred in declining benefit of pay,,

revision while working out loss of dependency and also in applying the multiplier of 14 instead of 16, as has been prescribed in the case of Sarla",,

Verma (supra). Since the dependent family members were three, hence the Tribunal was correct in deducting 1/3rd on account of personal living",,

expenses. The Tribunal has rightly added 50% to the income of the deceased on account of loss of future prospects. The amounts paid under the,,

heads of loss of consortium, loss of estate and funeral expenses are on lower side and to bring them in tune with the law laid down by the Supreme",,

Court in the case of Pranay Sethi (supra) are required to be enhanced.,,

 The income of the deceased after revision of salary comes to Rs. 14,875/- i.e. Rs.11,170/- (8370+2800) + 22% DA (Rs.2457/-) + CA Rs.390/- +",,

Medical Allowance Rs.300/- + House Rent Allowance @ 5% Rs.558/-. Therefore, adding 50% towards future prospects the monthly income would",,

come to Rs.22,312/-. Deducting 1/3rd on account of personal living expenses, the net monthly income of the deceased comes to Rs.14,875/-. Applying",,

the multiplier of 16 as has been indicated in Sarla Verma’s case, the loss of dependency would come to Rs.28,56,000/-. The amounts granted on",,

account of other heads are on the lower side and are required to be increased to bring them in tune with the settled legal position by the Supreme,,

Court in the case of Pranay Sethi (supra).,,

 The award of the Tribunal is, therefore, modified in the following manner:-",,

 Loss of dependency    Rs.28,56,000/-",,

 Loss of consortium to wife   Rs. 40,000/-",,

 Loss of estate/love and affection  Rs.15,000/-",,

 Funeral expenses     Rs. 15,000/-",,

 Total       Rs.29,26,000/-",,

 The claimants are held entitled to the aforesaid amount of compensation along with interest as has been awarded by the Tribunal. The appeal of,,

the Insurance Company is dismissed. The appeal filed by the claimant shall stand disposed of in the above terms.,,

The Appellant-Insurance company is directed to deposit the balance amount in terms of the modified awards.Â,,