Universal Sompo General Insurance Co. Ltd vs Arti Devi And Others

Puneet Gupta, J

The respondent Nos. 1 to 4 are served and stand represented through their counsel. There is deemed service of respondent Nos. 5 & 6 as they have not appeared in the appeal. They are set ex-parte. Otherwise too, their presence is not required in the appeal as the appellant had necessarily only challenged the quantum of compensation awarded by the Tribunal in favour of the claimants.

The appellant has challenged the award dated 04.04.2018, passed by the learned Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Jammu, whereby the Tribunal has awarded compensation in favour of the claimants-respondent Nos. 1 to 4 to the tune of Rs.5,74,000/- along with interest @ 6.75% per annum from the date of filing of petition till payment is made to the claimants by the Insurance Company.

The respondents-claimant Nos. 1 & 4 (Bachno Devi & Banti Devi) have died during the pendency of the appeal and the legal representatives of the said deceased are already on record as the respondent Nos. 2 & 3 in the appeal.

The accident of 21.11.2014 caused by rash and negligent driving of the respondent-driver which took away the life of Bachan Lal near the Gas Agency, Mishri Wala is not in dispute. The compensation awarded by the Tribunal is mainly challenged by the appellant-Insurance Company on the ground that the Tribunal has assessed the monthly income of the deceased on a higher side; that the Tribunal has wrongly deducted 1/4th of income of the deceased as personal expenses and that the multiplier has also been wrongly applied by the Tribunal while awarding compensation to the claimants.

The perusal of the claim petition filed by the claimants speaks of the earning of the deceased Bachan Lal to the tune of Rs.10,000/- per month from agriculture, labour and being working at a Dhaba. The Tribunal has assessed the monthly income of the deceased as Rs.8000/-after going through the evidence brought on record. Admittedly, it cannot be said that the deceased was a permanent employee or had any fixed income. The assessment of income of Rs.8000/- per month by the Tribunal is on a higher side keeping in view the work he was performing at the time of his death. The claimants are required to be given just compensation keeping in view the overall facts and circumstances of the case. Though the learned counsel for the appellant had argued that the monthly income of the deceased is required to be taken as Rs.4500/- per month on the basis of minimum wages of unskilled worker which was Rs.150/- per day in the year 2014, the court is of the opinion that there cannot be any straightjacket formula for assessing the monthly income of the victim. The court is of the view that the monthly income of the deceased should be assessed at Rs.6000/- keeping in view the work he was performing at the time of his death and not Rs.8000/- as assessed by the Tribunal.

The Tribunal has deducted 1/4th of the income of the deceased towards personal expenses. The counsel for the appellant has submitted that the deduction should be 1/3rd keeping in view the number of family members of the deceased who are dependent upon him though the learned counsel for the respondents-claimants has submitted that the Tribunal has not committed any fault in this respect. The court is not in agreement with the submission made by the learned counsel for the appellant. The Tribunal has not committed any fault on this aspect of the matter.

The Tribunal has considered the age of the deceased between 60 and 65 years at the time of death though the appellant submits that as per the voter card the age of the deceased was 67 years and, therefore, the Tribunal has erred in applying the multiplier qua the age of the deceased. The court is not inclined to agree with the argument of the learned counsel for the appellant on this score as the voter card does not necessarily reflect the precise date of birth of the voter card holder.

The court need not interfere into the multiplier of 7 as applied by the Tribunal.

The claimants have not filed any cross appeal for enhancement of the compensation awarded by the Tribunal. The court can, however, grant compensation in appeal to the claimants which may be otherwise due to the claimants. The claimants are also entitled to compensation on account of spousal, filial and parental consortium in view of the judgment passed in case titled The New India Assurance Company Limited vs. Smt. Somwati and others (Civil Appeal No. 3093 of 2020 decided on 07.09.2020). The Tribunal has only awarded spousal compensation on account of spousal consortium though the other claimants are also entitled to consortium on account of filial and parental consortium. The Tribunal has awarded funeral expenses to the tune of Rs.15000/- and also Rs.15000/- under the heading loss of estate and requires no correction from this court. Thus, the total compensation which is otherwise required to be awarded to the claimants under different heads is as under:

Income                                                        :                                               Rs.6000/-

Deduction towards personal                        :                                               Rs.1500/- (1/4th of Rs.6000/-)

expenditure

Total dependency                                        :                                               Rs.4500/- (Rs.6000 – Rs.1500)

Age multiplier                                              :                                               7

Compensation                                              :                                               Rs.4500/- x 12 x 7

=Rs. 3,78,000/-

Loss of Consortium                                     :                                               Rs. 1,60,000/-

Loss of funeral expenses                             :                                               Rs. 15000/-

Loss of Estate                                              :                                               Rs. 15000/-

Total                                                              :                                               Rs. 5,68,000/-

As the compensation to which the claimants are held entitled to by this court is just shade less than the one awarded by the Tribunal the court does not intend to disturb the award passed by the Tribunal and maintains the same.

The claimants-respondents are held entitled to compensation along with the interest as awarded by the Tribunal from the date of filing of the claim petition till realization of the whole amount from the Insurance Company. The respondents 2 and 3 shall be entitled to the amount in equal shares as the other claimants have expired during the pendency of the appeal.

As the award passed by the Tribunal is not interfered with by the court in the appeal as such the appeal stands dismissed.