Gurmail Kaur and Ors v. Bogha Singh and Ors

IN T

GURMAIL KA

BOGHA SING

CORAM : HON

Present: Mr for

Mr for

SUDEEPTI SH

1.

The enhancement of Tribunal, Mans Section 166 of were awarded a annum. FACTS NOT IN

2.

Bri returning at abo situated in villa village that a bu driven by the dr going on the le Corporation (PR

THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJ AT CHANDIGA

-.-

FA

Da AUR AND ORS

Versus GH AND OTHERS

N'BLE MRS. JUSTICE SUDE r.Manjit Singh Uppal, Advocate the appellant(s). r. Balwinder Singh, Advocate respondent Nos.2 and 3. -.-

HARMA, J. e present appeal has been prefer f compensation awarded by th sa (for short, 'the Tribunal') vi the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, a compensation of Rs.1,44,000 N DISPUTE ief facts of the case are that out 7.00 pm on his bicycle fro age Dayalpura. When, he reach us No. PB-11 AB/5842 came fr river in a rash and negligent man ft side of the road. The bus bel RTC), Budhlada Depot and respo

JAB AND HARYANA ARH

AO-963-2007 (O&M) ate of Decision : 16.10.2024

....APPELLANTS

....RESPONDENTS EEPTI SHARMA rred by the claimants/appellants he learned Motor Accident Clai de award dated 04.11.2006 un whereby, the claimants/appella 0/- along with interest @ 6% on 30.10.2005, Satkar Singh w om Baretawala fields to his ho hed near the Poultry Farm of from the side of Bareta, which w nner and hit Satkar Singh, who w longs to the Pepsu Road Transp ondent no.1 was the driver. The

for ims nder ants per was ouse was was port

was being drive roadside and su Singh along wi scooter. Since th to the village an and the injured referred to the C It is also averre was also traveli against respond Code in Police S deceased.

3.

Up the factum of co

4.

Fro issues:-

en by him at a very high spee uffered multiple injuries on his p ith Roop Singh son of Dalip S hey were helpless in carrying the nd informed the brother of Satkar d was carried to the Civil Hos Civil Hospital, Mansa, but he su d that Veer Singh son of Hardia ing in the same bus. FIR No. 15 dent no. 1 for offences under S Station, Bareta, on the statement on notice of the claim petition, ompensation. om the pleading of the parties, "1) Whether Satkar Singh s the negligent driving of bus no.1, which is owned by resp at 7.00 pm in the area of Day

2.Whether the petition is b parties? OPR.

¶3To what amount the clai from which of the responden 4) Relief."

ed. Satkar Singh had fallen on person. Satgur Singh son of Bo ingh were following the bus o e injured to the Hospital, they ca r Singh. The transport was arran spital, Bareta from where he w ccumbed to the injuries in the w al Singh resident of village Khil 57 dated 31.10.2005 was registe Section 304-A of the Indian Pe t of Bahal Singh, the brother of , respondents appeared and den the Tribunal framed the follow son of Surjit Singh died because s no. PB-11AB/5842 by respond pondents no. 2 and 3, on 30.10.20 yalpura? OPP. bad for non-joinder of necess imants are entitled to recover a ts? OPP.

oota on a ame ged was way. llan ered enal nied wing e of dent

5.

Aft record, the learn alongwith inter present appeal f SUBMISSIONS

6.

The amount assessed that the learned amount has be compensation fo lower side.

7.

Per the learned Trib of compensation

8.

I h record of this ca

9.

A p income of the d multiplier of 8, appropriate mul future prospects loss of estate are

10.

The in accordance w State of Punjab.

ter taking into consideration th rned Tribunal awarded compens est @ 6% per annum. Hence for enhancement of compensation S OF THE COUNSELS e learned counsel for the claim d by the learned Tribunal is on t Tribunal erroneously applied m een granted for future prospec for loss of consortium, funeral e r contra, learned for the responde bunal vide award dated 04.11.20 n. have heard learned counsel for ase. perusal of the award indicates deceased at Rs.2100/- per month however, according to the law s ltiplier should be 13. Furtherm s and the sum awarded for loss o e also on the lower side. e income of the deceased is to b with the minimum wages presc

he pleadings and the evidence sation to the tune of Rs.1,44,00 the claimants/appellants filed n awarded by the Tribunal. mants-appellants contends that the lower side. He further conte multiplier of 8 instead of 13 and cts. He further contends that expenses and loss of estate was ent-Insurance Company argues t 006 has rightly assessed the amo the parties and perused the wh that the Tribunal has assessed h. Further the Tribunal applied settled by Hon'ble Apex Court, more, no amount was calculated of consortium, funeral expenses be assessed as Rs.3000/- per mo cribed for unskilled workers in

on 00/- nds d no s on that ount hole for

SETTLED LAW

11.

Ho Transport Corp down the law o are as under:- "30 per ind stan dec was dep num whe

¶31par bac exp mo get par to e be

W ON COMPENSATION n'ble Supreme Court in the poration and Another [(2009) 6 on assessment of compensation

¶0Though in some cases the rsonal and living expenses is dicated in Trilok Chandra, th ndardised deductions. Having cisions of this Court, we are of s married, the deduction toward e deceased, should be one-thir pendent family members is 2 t mber of dependent family memb ere the number of dependent fam Where the deceased was a ba rents, the deduction follows a chelors, normally, 50% is d penses, because it is assumed th re on himself. Even otherwise, tting married in a short time, in rent(s) and siblings is likely to b evidence to the contrary, the fath d will not be considered as a de considered as a dependant. In

case of Sarla Verma Vs. De 6 Supreme Court Cases 121], l and the relevant paras of the sa e deduction to be made towa calculated on the basis of un he general practice is to ap a considered several subsequ f the view that where the decea ds personal and living expenses rd (1/3rd) where the number to 3, one-fourth (1/4th) where bers is 4 to 6, and one-fifth (1/5 mily members exceeds six. achelor and the claimants are different principle. In regard deducted as personal and liv hat a bachelor would tend to sp there is also the possibility of which event the contribution to be cut drastically. Further, subj her is likely to have his own inco ependant and the mother alone w In the absence of evidence to

elhi laid ame ards nits pply uent ased s of r of 5th) d to ving end f his ject ome

con bec be only wou of t as you exp wil *

¶42men Sus an 25 y to 3 for uni to 6

12.

Ho Ltd. Vs. Pranay

ntrary, brothers and sisters will cause they will either be indepe dependent on the father.

¶2Thus even if the deceased is ly d the mother would be consid uld be treated as the personal a d 50% as the contribution to the the bachelor is large and depend in a case where he has a wido unger non-earning sisters or b penses may be restricted to one-t ll be taken as two-third.

*

* We therefore hold that the m ntioned in Column (4) of the t samma Thomas³, Trilok Chandr operative multiplier of 18 (for th years), reduced by one unit for e 30 years, M-16 for 31 to 35 yea 41 to 45 years, and M-13 for 4 its for every five years, that is, M 60 years, M-7 for 61 to 65 years n'ble Supreme Court in the case y Sethi & Ors. [(2017) 16 SCC

l not be considered as dependa endent and earning, or married, survived by parents and siblin dered to be a dependant, and 5 and living expenses of the bache e family. However, where the fam dent on the income of the deceas owed mother and large number brothers, his personal and liv third and contribution to the fam *

*

* multiplier to be used should be table above (prepared by apply ra and Charlie), which starts w he age groups of 15 to 20 and 21 every five years, that is M-17 for ars, M-15 for 36 to 40 years, M 46 to 50 years, then reduced by M-11 for 51 to 55 years, M-9 for and M-5 for 66 to 70 years. e of National Insurance Comp C 680] has clarified the law un

nts, , or ngs, 50% elor mily sed, r of ving mily e as ying with 1 to r 26 M-14 two r 56 pany

Sections 166, 1 aspects:-

(A) mu

(B)

(C)

(D) esta

(E) age The

63-A and 168 of the Motor Ve ) Deduction of personal an ultiplicand; ) Selection of multiplier depen ) Age of deceased on basis for ) Reasonable figures on con ate, loss of consortium and funer ) Future prospects for all cate es: with permanent job; self-emp e relevant portion of the judgmen "52. As far as the conventi it difficult to agree with the granted Rs.25,000 towards towards loss of consortium care and guidance for minor of care and minor children d to Santosh Devi, it does n conventional and traditional determined on percentage b acceptable criterion. Unlike heads have to be quantified reasonable foundation. Ther that price index, fall in ba many a field have to be n oblivious to the same. Ther

ehicles Act, 1988, on the follow nd living expenses to determ nding on age of deceased; r applying multiplier; nventional heads, namely, loss ral expenses, with escalation; egories of persons and for differ ployed or fixed salary. nt is reproduced as under:- ional heads are concerned, we f e view expressed in Rajesh². It s funeral expenses, Rs 1,00,0 and Rs 1,00,000 towards loss r children. The head relating to l does not exist. Though Rajesh ref not seem to follow the same. T l heads, needless to say, cannot basis because that would not be e determination of income, the s d. Any quantification must hav re can be no dispute over the f nk interest, escalation of rates noticed. The court cannot rem re has been a thumb rule in t

wing mine of rent find has s of loss fers The t be e an said e a fact s in main

aspect. Otherwise, there determination of the same an there will be immense variat as a consequence of which, and courts are likely to be seemly to fix reasonable sum figures on conventional hea consortium and funeral Rs.40,000 and Rs.15,000 revisiting the said heads is revisit should not be fact-cen that it would be condign quantified should be enhan three years and the enhance in a span of three years. W that will bring in consistency *

*

59.3. While determining th actual salary to the incom prospects, where the deceas below the age of 40 years, sh be 30%, if the age of the dec In case the deceased was bet addition should be 15%. actual salary less tax.

will be extreme difficulty nd unless the thumb rule is appli tion lacking any kind of consiste the orders passed by the tribun e unguided. Therefore, we think ms. It seems to us that reasona ads, namely, loss of estate, loss expenses should be Rs.15,0 respectively. The principle s an acceptable principle. But ntric or quantum-centric. We th that the amount that we h nced on percentage basis in ev ement should be at the rate of 1 We are disposed to hold so beca y in respect of those heads. *

*

* he income, an addition of 50% e of the deceased towards fut sed had a permanent job and w hould be made. The addition sho ceased was between 40 to 50 yea tween the age of 50 to 60 years, Actual salary should be read

in ied, ncy nals k it able s of 000, of hink ave very 0% ause % of ture was ould ars.

¶13Insuranc Others [2 Pranay S paras of th

59.4. In case the deceased salary, an addition of 40% o the warrant where the decea An addition of 25% where th 40 to 50 years and 10% wh age of 50 to 60 years shou method of computation. Th income minus the tax compon

59.5. For determination of t personal and living expenses be guided by paras 30 to 3 reproduced hereinbefore.

59.6. The selection of multi Table in Sarla Verma¹ read w

59.7. The age of the decease the multiplier.

59.8. Reasonable figures on estate, loss of consortium a 15,000, Rs 40,000 and Rs 1 amounts should be enhanced years." Hon'ble Supreme Court in ce Company Limited Vs. Na 2018(18) SCC 130] after consi Sethi (Supra) has settled the law he same are reproduced as under

was self-employed (or) on a fix of the established income should ased was below the age of 40 yea he deceased was between the age here the deceased was between uld be regarded as the necess he established income means nent. the multiplicand, the deduction s, the tribunals and the courts sh 32 of Sarla Verma⁴ which we h iplier shall be as indicated in with para 42 of that judgment. ed should be the basis for apply conventional heads, namely, loss and funeral expenses should be 15,000 respectively. The afores d at the rate of 10% in every th n the case of Magma Gene anu Ram alias Chuhru Ram dering Sarla Verma (supra) w regarding consortium. Relev r:-

xed d be ars. e of sary for hall ave ying s of Rs said hree eral &

"21. A Constitution Bench o with the various heads und awarded in a death case. consortium. In legal parlanc term which encompasses consortium", and "filial con would include the company solace and affection of the family. With respect to a relations with the deceased sp

21.1. Spousal consortium pertaining to the relationshi compensation to the surviv society, cooperation, affecti conjugal relation".

21.2. Parental consortium premature death of a pa protection, affection, soc training".

21.3. Filial consortium i compensation in the case of accident leading to the death agony to the parents and fa agony for a parent is to los Children are valued for the and their role in the family u

of this Court in Pranay Sethi² de der which compensation is to One of these heads is loss ce, "consortium" is a compendi "spousal consortium", "paren nsortium". The right to consorti y, care, help, comfort, guidan deceased, which is a loss to spouse, it would include sex spouse. is generally defined as rig ip of a husband-wife which allo ving spouse for loss of "compa ion, and aid of the other in ev is granted to the child upon rent, for loss of "parental a ciety, discipline, guidance a is the right of the parents f an accidental death of a child. h of a child causes great shock a amily of the deceased. The grea se their child during their lifeti eir love, affection, companions unit.

ealt be of ious ntal ium nce, his xual ghts ows any, very aid, to An test me.

¶22Consortium is a special about the status and worth jurisdictions world-over hav child's consortium far exc compensation awarded in th jurisdictions therefore pe compensation under loss of c The amount awarded to the of the love, affection, care a child.

¶23The Motor Vehicles Act providing relief to the vict genuine claims. In case wh child, or unmarried son or d be awarded loss of conso consortium. Parental conso lose their parents in motor few High Courts have awa However, there was no clari which compensation could consortium.

¶24The amount of compensa will be governed by the pri under "loss of consortium" a present case, we deem it ap

l prism reflecting changing nor h of actual relationships. Mod ve recognised that the value of ceeds the economic value of e case of the death of a child. M ermit parents to be award consortium on the death of a ch parents is a compensation for l and companionship of the decea is a beneficial legislation aimed ims or their families, in cases here a parent has lost their mi daughter, the parents are entitled ortium under the head of fi rtium is awarded to children w vehicle accidents under the Act arded compensation on this cou ity with respect to the principles d be awarded on loss of fi ation to be awarded as consorti inciples of awarding compensat as laid down in Pranay Sethi². In ppropriate to award the father a

rms dern of a Most ded hild. loss ased d at s of inor d to ilial who t. A unt. s on ilial ium

CONCLUSION

14.

In above referred

04.11.2006 is enhanced compe Sr. No. M F D ex

4. T M A L F L P S

T

A

E

15.

So Court in Dara S and R.Valli and Supreme Cour

the sister of the deceased, an of filial consortium. N view of the law laid down by to judgments, the present app modified accordingly. The ap ensation as per the calculations m Heads Monthly Income uture prospects @ 25% Deduction towards pers xpenditure Total Income Multiplier Annual Dependency Loss of Estate uneral Expenses Loss of Consortium arental : Rs.48,000/- x 2 pousal : Rs.48,000/-x1 Total Compensation Amount Awarded by the Tribu Enhanced amount far as the interest part is conce Singh @ Dhara Banjara Vs. Shy d Others VS. Tamil Nandu State rt Cases 107, the appellants-cla

n amount of Rs 40,000 each for l the Hon'ble Supreme Court in peal is allowed. The award da ppellants-claimants are entitled made here-under:- Compensation Awarded Rs.3000/- Rs.750/- (25% of 3000) sonal Rs.1250/- [1/3 of (3000+750)] Rs.2500/- (3750-1250) Rs.3,90,000/- (Rs.2500/- x 12 x 13) Rs.18,000/- Rs.18,000/- Rs.1,44,000/- Rs.5,70,000/- nal Rs.1,44,000/- Rs.4,26,000/- erned, as held by Hon'ble Supre yam Singh Varma 2019 ACJ 31 te Transport Corporation (2022 aimants are granted the interest

loss ated d to d eme 2) 5 t @

9% per annum o the date of its re

16.

The compensation al from today. The compensation al per ratio settled directed to furni

17.

Dis

18.

Pen

October 16, 202 A.Kaundal

Whether s

Whether r

on the enhanced amount from th ealization. e Insurance Company is directed long with interest with the Tribu e Tribunal is further directed to long with interest in the accoun d in the award dated 04.11.20 ish the bank account details to th sposed of accordingly. nding applications, if any, also st

(

speaking/non-speaking : Speakin reportable

: Yes/No

he date of filing of claim petition d to deposit the enhanced amoun unal within a period of two mon o disburse the enhanced amount nts of all the claimants/appellants

¶006The claimants/appellants he Tribunal. tand disposed of. (SUDEEPTI SHARMA) JUDGE ng

n till nt of nths t of s as