Basant Lal v. Dhanwati Devi & Ors.

1. Whether Reporters of Local papers may YES be allowed to see the Judgment?

2. To be referred to the Reporter or not? YES

3. Whether the judgment should be YES reported in the Digest? JUDGMENT (Oral) The appellants have challenged the award of the Claims Tribunal whereby compensation of Rs.2,16,000/- has been awarded to the claimants. The appellants in FAO.No.230/1994 are seeking enhancement of the award 2010:DHC:1605 seeking reduction of the award amount and the unlimited liability of the Insurance Company to pay the award amount. FAO.No.230/1994

1. The accident dated 14th September, 1987 resulted in the death of Lakhpat Singh. The deceased was survived by his widow, one minor son, two minor daughters and mother who filed the claim petition before the Claims Tribunal.

2. The deceased was aged 40 years at the time of the accident and was self-employed carrying on the business of motor starter in the name of M/s Simplex Electricals. The deceased was carrying on the said business for the last 10 years before the accident. It was claimed that the deceased was earning Rs.4,000/- to Rs.4,500/- per month from the said business. The deceased had installed one lathe machine, one drill machine, one press machine and one painting machine in the factory and three workers were working under him. In the absence of any documentary evidence of income, the Claims Tribunal took the income of the deceased as Rs.2,000/- after deduction of the personal expenses of the deceased and the multiplier of 9 was applied to compute the loss of dependency at Rs.2,16,000/-.

3. The learned counsel for the appellants has urged the following grounds at the time of hearing of this appeal:-

(i) The income of the deceased be taken as

(ii) The multiplier be enhanced from 9 to 15.

(iii) The compensation be awarded for loss of consortium, loss of love and affection, loss of estate and funeral expenses.

4. With respect to the occupation and income of the deceased, the widow of the deceased came in the witness box as PW-3 and deposed that the deceased was carrying on the business of motor starter in the name of M/s Simplex Electricals for the last 10 years before the accident and the deceased used to pay Rs.3,000/- to Rs.3,500/- per month to her for household expenses. PW-3 further deposed that the deceased had employed three workers in his factory and had installed lathe machine, drill machine, press machine and painting machine and the deceased was paying rent of Rs.900/- per month. PW-3 further deposed that the said business was closed after the death of the deceased. The landlord of the deceased also appeared in the witness box as PW-1 and corroborated the statement of widow. The registration certificate of the factory under Shop and Establishment Act was also placed on record before the Claims Tribunal. The statements of PW-1 and PW-3 proved the occupation of the deceased but there is no documentary evidence of income of the deceased. In the absence of any documentary proof of income of the deceased, the Claims Tribunal was justified in drawing a presumption under Section 114 of the Indian Evidence Act with respect to the income of the deceased. The Claims Tribunal has held that the deceased was contributing Rs.2,000/- per month to her family and the loss of dependency of the family has been taken to be Rs.2,000/- per month. The finding of the Claims Tribunal in this regard is fair and reasonable and does not call for any interference.

5. The deceased was aged 40 years at the time of the accident and the appropriate multiplier according to the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Sarla Verma Vs. Delhi Transport Corporation, 2009 (6) Scale 129 is 15. The Claims Tribunal has applied the multiplier of 9 which is enhanced to 15. Taking the monthly dependency of the appellants to be Rs.2,000/- and applying the multiplier of 15, the loss of dependency is computed to be Rs.3,60,000/- (Rs.2,000 x 12 x 15). The Claims Tribunal has not awarded any compensation for loss of love and affection, loss of consortium, loss of estate and funeral expenses. Rs.15,000/- is awarded towards loss of love and affection, loss of consortium, loss of estate and funeral expenses. The appellants are entitled to the total compensation of Rs.3,75,000/-.

6. The appeal is allowed and the award amount is enhanced from Rs.2,16,000/- to Rs.3,75,000/-. The Claims Tribunal has awarded interest @12% per annum which is not disturbed on the original award amount of Rs.2,16,000/-. However, on the enhanced award amount, the rate of interest shall be 7.5% per annum from the date of filing of the claim petition up to the date of notice of deposit under Order XXI Rule 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure. FAO.No.165/1994

1. The learned counsel for the appellant has urged the following grounds at the time of hearing of this appeal:-

(i) The quantum of compensation awarded by the

(ii) The liability of respondent No.7, New India