Nirmal Kanta Suri and Others v. Union of India and Others

IN T

Smt. Nirmal Ka Union of India a

CORAM : HON

Present: Mr

Mr

Mr SUDEEPTI SH

1.

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

2.

Bri alongwith Asho Amritsar to Ch PB-02H-5171 (h Singh. He was

THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJ AT CHANDIGA -.-

FA

XO Da anta and Others

VERSUS and Others

N'BLE MRS. JUSTICE SUDE r. Sahej Mahajan, Advocate for th r. Vaibhav Gupta, Advocate for r. Pankaj Gupta, Advocate for the -.- HARMA, J. (Oral)

e present appeal has been prefer f compensation awarded by th hkula (for short, 'the Tribunal') v the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, a compensation of Rs.4,23,340 N DISPUTE ief facts of the case are that on ok Kumar Suri, Rajpal Mahaja handigarh by means of Maruti hereinafter referred to as the ca driving on his left hand side of

JAB AND HARYANA ARH AO-4566-2006 (O&M) and OBJC-26-CII-2008 ate of Decision : 05.11.2024

....Appellants

....Respondents EEPTI SHARMA he appellant. e respondents. rred by the claimants/appellants he learned Motor Accident Cla vide award dated 11.05.2005 un whereby, the claimants/appella 0/- along with interest @ 6%

19.12.2001 Pawan Kumar Nay an and Chuni Lal was going fr Zen Car bearing Registration N ar in question) being driven by f the road at a moderate speed.

for ims nder ants per yyar rom No. Raj

about 10:00 AM Ropar, on Amirt (hereinafter refe left hand side o meantime, a M (hereinafter refe by respondent N of Chandigarh. bus in rash and coming from t space/distance t truck came on th and hit into the in the pits by th the truck again the truck had re accident, yet, th bus.

It w question had hit multiple, simple driver of the car to the injuries su

M, when they reached near villag tsar-Chandigarh Road, a bus bea erred to as the bus in question) be of the road at a moderate speed Military truck, blue coloured, be erred to as the offending truck) b No.4 Naresh Kumar also came fr Ignoring all traffic rules, the of d negligent manner despite see the opposite direction and the to overtake the bus. In the pro he extreme wrong side of the ro car of the appellants. As a resu he side of the road. The driver o on its left side but due to the im educed. The driver of the bus in he rear side of the offending truck was further alleged that the offe t the bus in question as well. Al e and grievous injuries and the r namely Shri Raj Singh @ Raju uffered by them. The bus was a

ge of Sahora, Tehsil Kharar, Dist aring registration No.PB-12-C-17 eing driven by Satnam Singh on d came from opposite side. In earing registration No.90-E-635 being driven rashly and negligen from opposite side i.e. from the s ffending truck tried to overtake eing that the car in question w ere was no proper and suffici ocess of overtaking, the offend ad i.e. almost on the Kachcha be lt of conclusion the car was push of the offending truck tried to div mpact of the accident, the speed n question tried its best to avoid k struck against the right side of ending truck, after hitting the car ll the occupants of the car suffe car was also badly damaged. T and Ashok Kumar Suri succumb also damaged and some passeng

trict his ntly side was ient ding erm hed vert d of f the r in ered The bed

suffered injurie account of rash

It w travelling in the him during the son, two daught and was earning income. Hence t

3.

Up the factum of ac

4.

Fro issues:-

s. Hence it was submitted that and negligent driving of the offe was further alleged that legal he e care in question and had succ accident. The appellants Smt. ters and father submitted that he g around Rs.25,000/- per month they filed the claim petition. on notice of the claim petition, ccident/compensation. om the pleadings of the parties,

¶1Whether the accident account of rash and negligen by respondent No.4 ? OPP

¶2To what amount of com Nayyar is entitled to on acco in this accident and from who

¶3To what amount of c etc are entitled to on accoun the present accident and from

¶4To what amount of co entitled to on account of th present accident and from wh

the accident took place solely ending truck by its driver. irs of Ashok Kumar Suri, who w cumbed to the injuries sustained Nirmal Kanta Suri widow and used to perform religious functi and they all were dependent on

, respondents appeared and den the Tribunal framed the follow t in question had taken place nt driving of Truck No.90-E-635 mpensation claimant Pawan Kum ount of the injuries suffered by h om? OPP compensation claimants Rajni B nt of death of Raj Singh @ Raju m whom? OPP ompensation claimant Chunni La he injuries suffered by him in hom? OPP

on was d by his ions his

nied wing on mar him Bala u in

5.

Aft record, the learn along with inte present appeal f SUBMISSIONS

6.

Lea assessed by the learned Tribuna only Rs.62,000/ religious functio taken into consi therefore, prays be enhanced.

7.

Per the learned Trib of compensation

¶5To what amount of co etc are entitled to on account in the present accident and fr

¶6To what amount of Mahajan is entitled to on a him in the present accident a

¶7Relief. ter taking into consideration th rned Tribunal awarded compens erest @ 6% per annum. Hence for enhancement of compensation S OF LEARNED COUNSELS arned counsel for the claimants-a learned Tribunal is on the lowe al has gravely erred in law in h /- per annum. He further conten ons and ceremonies and was pr ideration by the learned Tribun that the present appeal be allow r contra, learned for the responde bunal vide award dated 11.05.20 n. Therefore, he prays for dismis

ompensation claimant Nirmal Ka t of death of Sh. Ashok Kumar S rom whom? OPP f compensation claimant Raj account of the injuries received and from whom? OPP he pleadings and the evidence sation to the tune of Rs.4,23,34 the claimants/appellants filed n awarded by the Tribunal. S FOR THE PARTIES appellants contends that the amo er side. He further submits that holding that deceased was earn nds that he was also earning fr racticing as Hakim, which was al while assessing his income. ed and the amount of compensat ent-Insurance Company argues t 005 has rightly assessed the amo ssal of the present appeal.

anta Suri Pal by on 40/- ount ning rom not He, tion that

8.

I h record of this ca

9.

A p awarded by the towards funeral loss of Estate a deceased was an Secondary Scho annum, besides religious functio was exempted f Tax Return for factors, the inc (Rs.7,000/- per m SETTLED LAW

10.

Ho Transport Corp down the law o are as under:- "30 per ind stan

have heard learned counsel for ase. perusal of the award indicates e learned Tribunal is on the low expenses is on the lower side an and consortium. Further perus n Income Tax assessee and he ool, Amritsar, from where he wa that he also used to work as ons and ceremonies. Since the from the Income Tax, the same r the relevant years. Therefore, come of the deceased is ass month). Thus, the award require 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

the parties and perused the wh that the amount of compensat wer side. Further, amount awar nd no amount has been awarded sal of the award indicates that was, President of M/s Ajay Sen as drawing a salary Rs.24,000/- Hakim and also used to perfo income from the religious funct had not been shown in the Inco , taking into consideration all essed as Rs.84,000/- per ann s interference by this Court. 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

hole tion ded for nior per orm tion ome num elhi laid ame ards nits pply

dec was dep num whe

¶31par bac exp mo get par to e and be con bec be only wou and

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 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

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 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

ased s of r of 5th) d to ving end f his ject ome will nts, , or ngs, 50% elor

of t as you exp wil *

¶42men Sus an 25 y to 3 for uni to 6

11.

Ho Ltd. Vs. Pranay Sections 166, 1 aspects:-

(A) mu

(B)

(C)

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 63-A and 168 of the Motor Ve ) Deduction of personal an ultiplicand; ) Selection of multiplier depen ) Age of deceased on basis for

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 ehicles Act, 1988, on the follow nd living expenses to determ nding on age of deceased; r applying multiplier;

sed, r of ving mily e as ying with 1 to r 26 M-14 two r 56 pany nder wing

(D) esta

(E) age The

) 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 aspect. Otherwise, there determination of the same an there will be immense variat as a consequence of which,

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 will be extreme difficulty nd unless the thumb rule is appli tion lacking any kind of consiste the orders passed by the tribun

of rent find has s of loss fers The t be e an said ve a fact s in main this in ied, ncy

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.

59.4. In case the deceased salary, an addition of 40% o the warrant where the decea

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 was self-employed (or) on a fix of the established income should ased was below the age of 40 yea

k it able s of 000, of hink ave very 0% ause % of ture was ould ars. d as ixed d be

¶12Insuranc Others [2 Pranay S paras of th

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

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:-

e of sary for hall ave ying s of Rs said hree eral & and

"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

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

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

Children are valued for the and their role in the family u

¶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 victi 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.

eir love, affection, companions unit. l prism reflecting changing nor h of actual relationships. Mod ve recognised that the value o 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

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

CONCLUSION

13.

In above referred

11.05.2005 is m enhanced amoun Sr. No.

¶1Inco

¶2Futu

¶3Ded exp

¶4Tota

¶5Mul Ann Los Fun Los Pare Spo Filia Tota Com

Enh

¶24The amount of compensa will be governed by the pri under "loss of consortium" a present case, we deem it ap 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 app nt of compensation as per the cal Heads ome Rs ure Prospects 25% Rs duction towards personal enditure Rs al Income Rs ltiplier nual Dependency Rs s of Estate Rs neral Expenses Rs s of Consortium ental : Rs.48,000/- x 3 ousal :Rs.48,000/- x 1 al : Rs.48,000/- x 1

Rs al Compensation Rs mpensation awarded by Tribunal Rs hanced Compensation Rs

ation to be awarded as consorti inciples of awarding compensat as laid down in Pranay Sethi². In ppropriate to award the father a n amount of Rs 40,000 each for l the Hon'ble Supreme Court in peal is allowed. The award da pellant-claimant is entitled to lculations made here-under:-Compensation Awarded s.7,000/-s.1750/-(25% of 7000) s.2,187/-(1/4 of 8750) s.6,563/-(8750-2187) s.11,02,584/-(6563 x 12 x 14) s.18,000/-s.18,000/-s.2,40,00/-s.13,78,584/-s.4,23,340/-s.9,55,244/-

ium tion and loss

14.

So Court in Dara S and R.Valli and Supreme Cour per annum from

15.

Res of compensation a period of two The Tribunal i interest in the a the award dated bank account de

16.

FA XOBJ-26-CII-2

So file. However, l case any cause o

Pen

November 05, 2 tripti

Whethe

Whethe

far as the interest part is conce Singh @ Dhara Banjara Vs. Shy d Others VS. Tamil Nandu State t Cases 107, the amount so calc m the date of filing of claim petiti spondent Nos. 1 to 4 are directe n along with interest with the Tri months from the date of receipt s directed to disburse the amo account of claimants/appellants i d 11.05.2005. The claimants/app etails to the Tribunal. AO is Disposed of accordingly. 2008 far as cross-objections are conc liberty is granted to the cross-ob of action arose. nding applications, if any, also st 2024

er speaking/non-speaking : Speak er reportable

: Yes/N

erned, as held by Hon'ble Supre yam Singh Varma 2019 ACJ 31 te Transport Corporation (2022 culated shall carry an interest @ ion till the date of realization. ed to deposit the enhanced amo ibunal (jointly and severally) wit t of certified copy of this judgme ount of compensation along w in the same ratio as was granted pellants are directed to furnish th erned, no record is available on bjectors to get the same revived tand disposed of. (SUDEEPTI SHARMA) JUDGE king

eme 2) 5 @9% ount thin ent. with d in heir