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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
FIRST APPEAL NO.535 of 2013
1 Smt Darshana Ganesh Kanavaje
Age 29 Yrs, Occupation Household
2 Miss Sayali Ganesh Kanavaje
Age 12 Years Occupation Education
3 Miss Vaishnavi Ganesh Kanavaje,
Age 9 years, Occupation Education
4 Miss Gayatri Ganesh Kanavaje
Age Age 6 Months
5 Shri Manohar Ramchandra Kanavaje
Age 53 Years Occupation Nil
6 Sou Nirmala Manohar Kanavaje
Age 58 years Occupation Nil
All Residents of At Post Lanja , Kanavaje
wadi Tal.Lanja, Dist.Ratnagiri, ... Appellants
Versus
1 Maharashtra State Road Transport
Corporation, Ballard Estate,
Mumbai Central, Mumbai(Owner
and insurer of offending S.T.Bus.)
2 Shri Maruti Subhanrao Nikam
Occupation Driver
Resident of Nikam Wadi, Tal. Wai
District Satara
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3 Shri Sandeep Yashwant Pawaskar
Occupation business Resident of
Rohidaswadi, Pawas,
Taluka and District Ratnagiri. ... Respondents
...
Mr.Rajesh S. Patil, Advocate for the appellants. Mr.G.S.Hegde with Mr.C.M.Lokesh, Advocate for the respondent nos.1 and 2.
ig CORAM : A.P. BHANGALE,J
ORDER RESERVED ON : OCTOBER 22, 2013
ORDER PRONOUNCED ON: OCTOBER 24, 2013
JUDGEMENT :-
1 Heard submissions at the Bar. The appeal is preferred
against the Judgment and Award dated 6 th May 2010 passed by Learned Chairman, Motor accident Claim Tribunal, Ratnagiri in MACP No.43 of 2008 whereby the Tribunal was pleased to award compensation in the sum of Rs 8,80,000/- only inclusive of no fault liability. The facts are :-
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2 On 09-04-2008, Ganesh Manohar Kanavaje Aged 35
years was proceeding to his home at Lanja by Santro Car
registration no. MH-08-C-6832, travelling with his friends. Shri Vijay Chavan was driving the car. S.T Bus bearing registration no.
MH-12-CH-8684 came from the opposite direction while driven rashly, and negligently and dashed the said car. Ganesh died on the spot as result of the fatal accident. Tribunal held that accident happened as a result of sole negligence of the Driver of the offending S. T. Bus which had entered from the wrong side and gave dash to the car. Plea of contributory negligence raised on behalf of the MSRTC was found unacceptable and was rejected by the Tribunal.
3 Ganesh was running a Grocery shop at Lanja and was a regular Income Tax payer. His income was gradually increasing as deposed by Ramakant Pathare, Tax consultant for the deceased victim Ganesh. Income Tax returns for previous four years 2004-05 to 2007-08 were produced indicating annual income of the victim as Rs.82,884/-, Rs.86,360, Rs.98,750/- and Rs.1,12,926/-
respectively. Average annual income of the victim Ganesh, thus was calculable at Rs 90,000/- per year.
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4 I have considered the rival submissions at the bar in the
light of rulings cited before me in Sarla Verma & Ors. V/s Delhi Transport Corporation & Anr. Reported in AIR 2009 Supreme Court 3104 as also ruling relied upon in Santosh Devi V/s National Insurance Company Limited and Others, reported in (2012) 6 Supreme Court Cases 421. The ruling in Rajesh and others V/s Rajbir Singh and others, by three Judges' Bench of the Apex Court, reported in 2013 ACJ 1403 , New India Assurance Co. Ltd Vs. Gopali & others reported in ( 2012) 12 SCC 198.
5 The Apex Court in Gopali's case considering the facts and circumstances of that case observed regarding deduction made towards personal expenditure as under:-
"Here, we are dealing with a case in which the deceased had 8 dependents including four sons and one daughter.
The question which arises for our consideration is whether in 1992 a person having an income of less than Rs.3,000/- and a family of 9 could think of spending 1/3rd of his income on himself. On a conservative estimate, it is possible to say, he would have spent at ::: Downloaded on - 27/11/2013 20:29:23 ::: Tilak 5/17 FA-535-13(J) least 50% of the income on the purchase of foodgrains, milk, etc., and for payment of water, electricity and other bills. 25% of the income would have been spent on the education of children which would have included school/college fee, cost of books, etc. 15% of the income would have been used for meeting other family necessities, like, clothes, medical expenses, etc. He would have then been left with 10% of his income, a portion of which could be used to meet unforeseen contingencies and on the occasion of festivals. In this scenario, any deduction towards personal expenses would be unrealistic. In any case, where the family of the deceased comprised of 5 persons or more having an income of Rs.3,000/- to Rs.5,000/-, it is virtually impossible for him to spend more than 1/10th of the total income upon himself. What we have observed hereinabove may not apply to rich people living in urban areas who can afford to spend a substantial amount of their income in clubs, hotels and on drinks parties. In those cases, there may be a semblance of justification in applying the rule of 1/3rd deduction but it would be wholly unrealistic to universally apply that rule in all cases."
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6 The observations to uphold 10% deduction towards
personal expenditure were clearly in the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case as the deceased Nanag Ram in that case was machine operator earning Rs 4000/- per month and only bread earner who left behind large number of poor family members consisting of his aged parents, wife and five children who were dependents upon the deceased. The Apex court had granted enhanced rate of interest of 12 % p.a. on the enhanced compensation awarded. Learned advocate for the appellant also placed reliance upon the ruling in Amrit Bhanushali & others Vs National Insurance Co Ltd. & others reported in 2012 (6) JT 301 to argue that the parents of the deceased were granted sum of Rs 1,00,000/- for loss of love and affection of their Son.
7 Parents in that case were found dependent hence compensation was granted under the head of loss of love and affection as well.
8 Observations would support the contention for the submission advanced by learned Advocate for the appellants for enhancement of the compensation awarded in the present case.
::: Downloaded on - 27/11/2013 20:29:23 :::Tilak 7/17 FA-535-13(J) Perusal of the above rulings make it clear that there are no fetters on the power of the Tribunal to award just compensation even if it is in excess of the amount which is claimed in the claim application if enhancement is warranted by the proved facts and circumstances of the case. The object of awarding compensation is to restore the dependents-claimants to the pre-accidental position, as far as possible by compensating the victim's family in monetary terms for loss of their only bread earner family member. It is duty of the Tribunal or the Court to award just, equitable, fair and reasonable compensation irrespective of the amount claimed in the claim application. In such cases Tribunal need to bear in mind the social welfare objective of the Motor Vehicles Act to adequately compensate the victims of the motor vehicle accidents or their family members who are rendered helpless, aggrieved and disadvantaged by untimely accidental demise of earning member of their family i.e. the victim. In such cases dependents are often left behind to face impoverishment due to sudden impecunious circumstances after having lost their sole bread earner in the family.
Dependants need to satisfy basic wants of their life i.e. food, clothing, Education of Children in the poor family, medicine, shelter.
It is indisputable that increasing inflation or rising prices make it ::: Downloaded on - 27/11/2013 20:29:23 ::: Tilak 8/17 FA-535-13(J) increasingly difficult for them to survive and obtain fulfillment of even basic necessities in life -subsistence- for their livelihood. And therefore increasing trends in personal incomes ought to be borne in mind by the Tribunals and Courts so as to add just and reasonable amounts for to adequately compensate dependents for loss of future prospects as well. Minor Children in the family have lost father's invaluable guidance for their better educational career.
It is necessary to award compensation for damage done on this count. It is also essential to award non-pecuniary damages such as for loss of love and affection for family members, loss of consortium for widow or widower if dependent, loss of guidance, loss of estate etc which are special damages in fact uncompensatable in monetary terms, of course the caution is that the award ought not be a jackpot for the claimants to unreasonably and quickly enrich them.
It is not object of law to make them wealthier at the cost of public money held by the insurance companies. The intent of awarding non-pecuniary damages is to provide just, fair, reasonably adequate compensation so as to provide a sufficient corpus to take care of the subsistence of the dependents in future as well, hence such sums are also required to be added to the compensation amount properly and relevantly calculated with reference to facts of each case ::: Downloaded on - 27/11/2013 20:29:23 ::: Tilak 9/17 FA-535-13(J) ascertaining the multiplicand on the basis of monthly /yearly income proved by the claimants before the Tribunal so as to arrive at just and reasonable compensation irrespective of any amount claimed by the claimants. In the case of Rajesh and others (cited supra) Hon'ble the Supreme Court has held that in a given case when the deceased was self-employed or working on fixed wages, and if the deceased was below 40 years, there shall be addition of 50 percent of income of the deceased towards future prospects. This addition shall be 30% in case the deceased was aged between 40 to 50 years. In paragraph 12 of the judgment Hon'ble Supreme Court has held, it would be just and equitable to provide an addition of 15 per cent in the case wherein the victim is between the age group of 50 and 60 years so as to make the compensation just, equitable, fair and reasonable. There shall normally be no addition thereafter.
Thus in the case of Rajesh and others three judges bench of the Hon'ble Supreme Court has held that, the benefit of increase of income for future prospects is available not only to the victims where the deceased was in secured employment, but also to the victims where the deceased was self- employed or employed on fixed wages. The Hon'ble Supreme Court has further extended this benefit even to the cases where deceased persons in the age group ::: Downloaded on - 27/11/2013 20:29:23 ::: Tilak 10/17 FA-535-13(J) of 50 to 60 years. The addition of sums by way of future prospects without there being discrimination between dependents of deceased persons who were in secured employment and dependents of deceased persons who were self-employed or working on fixed wages would render the compensation award just, equitable, fair and reasonable.
9 Considering the submissions at the bar and the rulings cited and cognizant of the facts and circumstances of the present case, I think the calculations as suggested by learned Advocate for the appellant need to be partly accepted as just and reasonable suggestion for to provide adequate compensation on account of death of Ganesh aged 35 years in the motor vehicle accident payable to his dependents in the present case. In view of the guidelines in Sarla Verma's case , basically only three facts need to be established by the claimants for assessing compensation in the case of death : (a) age of the deceased; (b) income of the deceased;
and the (c) the number of dependents. The issues to be determined by the Tribunal to arrive at the loss of dependency are (i) additions/deductions to be made for arriving at the income; (ii) the deduction to be made towards the personal living expenses of the ::: Downloaded on - 27/11/2013 20:29:23 ::: Tilak 11/17 FA-535-13(J) deceased; and (iii) the multiplier to be applied with reference of the age of the deceased. Tribunals should determine compensation in cases of death, by the following well settled steps, viz. Step 1 (Ascertaining the multiplicand); Step 2 (Ascertaining the multiplier) and Step 3 (Actual calculation). Where the deceased was self-
employed or was on a fixed salary (without provision for annual increments etc.), the courts will usually take only the actual income at the time of death. A departure therefrom should be made only in rare and exceptional cases involving special circumstances.
Honourable Supreme Court, at paragraph-42 observed as follows :-
"42. We therefore hold that the multiplier to be used should be as mentioned in Column (4) of the table above (prepared by applying Susamma Thomas : (1994) 2 SCC 176, Trilok Chandra : (1996) 4 SCC 362 and Charlie : (2005) 10 SCC 720), which starts with an operative multiplier of 18 (for the age groups of 15 to 20 and 21 to 25 years), reduced by one unit for every five years, that is M-17 for 26 to 30 years, M-16 for 31 to 35 years, M-15 for 36 to 40 years, M-14 for 41 to 45 years, and M-13 for 46 to 50 years, then reduced by two units for every five years, that is, M-11 for 51 to 55 years, M-9 for 56 to 60 years, M-7 for 61 to 65 years and M-5 for 66 to 70 years."::: Downloaded on - 27/11/2013 20:29:23 :::
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10 Bearing in mind guidelines set by the Apex Court as
above and after considering possibilities of dependents continuing the same business of the victim Ganesh as well as imponderables i.
e. early demise of victim's parents etc, in the facts and circumstances of the case I think, the calculation of compensation as herein below would be just, equitable, reasonable and proper :-
victim Ganesh was aged 35 years and self employed businessman by occupation Seller in Grocery articles from his own shop, with average annual income of Rs 90,000/- based on evidence of his Income Tax returns for four years previous to his death. He was survived by six family members his widow Darshana(29 yrs), Daughters Sayali(12yrs), Vaishnavi (09 yrs), Gayatri (6 months) and Parents Manohar (63 yrs.) and Sau Nirmala (58 yrs).
11 In my opinion it is unrealistic to urge for more deduction towards personal expenses on the pretext that the dependants of the deceased may be able to earn on their own by starting the grocery shop or otherwise. It must be borne in mind the possibility that there may be likely addition of income amount ::: Downloaded on - 27/11/2013 20:29:23 ::: Tilak 13/17 FA-535-13(J) by way of future prospects and converse probability of business of the grocery articles to be continued by or on behalf of the dependants, though no such evidence is brought on the record, the reasonable and just compensation must be computed in the case in hand. Annual average income of the deceased Ganesh must be arrived at after deduction of 1/4th amount of personal expenses. In paragraph-30 of the Sarla Verma's case, the Supreme Court observed as follows :-
"30. Though in some cases the deduction to be made towards personal and living expenses is calculated on the basis of units indicated in Trilok Chandra :
(1996) 4 SCC 362, the general practice is to
apply standardized deductions. Having considered
several subsequent decisions of this Court, we are of the view that where the deceased was married, the deduction towards personal and living expenses of the deceased, should be one- third (1/3rd) where the number of dependent family members is 2 to 3, one- fourth (1/4th) where the number of dependent family members is 4 to 6, and one- fifth (1/5th) where the number of dependent family members exceeds six. "::: Downloaded on - 27/11/2013 20:29:23 :::
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12 Thus ¼ th personal expenditure of Rs 22,500/- is to be
deducted ( considering six members in his family at the time of his death) from his average yearly earning of Rs 90, 000/-. Per annum (Vide Ex.31 to 33 as deposed by AW-3 Ramakant Pathare, tax consultant.) when the deceased was self-employed the court will usually take only the annual average income at the time of death of victim. Total annual loss of dependency is Rs 90,000/- minus Rs 22,500/- = Rs 67,500/- Since deceased was self employed, further deduction from this amount merely on the pretext that dependants of the deceased may be able to pursue business of selling grocery articles would be rather harsh upon the dependents considering their basic needs in these days of rising prices and the nature of family consisting of minor daughters and aged parents particularly in the absence of any concrete evidence to indicate that they would be able to set up same business as was carried on by the deceased Ganesh. Hence, I am considering the proved sum of Rs 67,500/-
per annum as the sum inclusive of future prospects of increase in incomes to be calculated as basis of annual loss of dependency for family members of the victim Ganesh. Annual income for dependents is calculated in the sum of (67,500 x 16) Rs. 67,500/-
::: Downloaded on - 27/11/2013 20:29:23 :::Tilak 15/17 FA-535-13(J) per annum multiplied by "16" as proper multiplier applicable considering the age 35 years of the victim, compensation amount comes to Rs.10,80,000/-. (Capitalised loss of dependency for claimants-dependents). In addition, sum of Rs 100,000/- must be added as loss of consortium for widow of the deceased and Rs.100,000/- ought to be reasonably granted by way of compensation towards loss of love and affection for the family members of the victim and sum of Rs. 100,000/- for loss or deprivation of father's guidance for future and better educational career for minor Children and the sum of Rs 10000/- spent towards funeral expenses and transport expenses . We can thus arrive at just, fair and reasonable compensation in the sum of Rs.
13,90,000/- inclusive of no fault liability, with reasonable interest @7.50 % p.a. on the unpaid amount from the date of the claim application till the amount is deposited by the MSRTC /owner of the offending vehicle. The balance of remaining amount unpaid would carry reasonable interest at the rate of Rs. 7.50 % per annum till full realization thereof. Before parting with the order it is desirable to mention that the portion of the capitalized compensation ought to be invested in such manner in the valuable security such as fixed deposit in any nationalised Bank so as to fetch ::: Downloaded on - 27/11/2013 20:29:23 ::: Tilak 16/17 FA-535-13(J) regular recurrent income for the subsistence of the aged and poor, needy claimants in the case to meet any exigency in the family, if occurs. Compensation amount need to be enhanced and granted accordingly by modifying the impugned award. Hence, following order is passed :-
O R D E R
1) Appeal is partly allowed as under:
2) Award is modified while allowing and including enhancement of the compensation as follows:-
(a) Widow, Parents and dependent unmarried daughters of the victim are together entitled to compensation in the total sum of Rs.13,90,000/- inclusive of no fault liability along with interest at the rate of Rs. 7.50 % per annum from the date of application till deposit thereof in the Tribunal / Court or realization thereof and unpaid balance amount due shall carry the interest payable @ 7.50% p.a. till realization of the full compensation.
(b) Record and Proceedings be sent back to Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Ratnagiri along with the amount deposited in this Court if any to enable the Tribunal for determined disbursal of the compensation as ordered herein with latitude to issue directions for ::: Downloaded on - 27/11/2013 20:29:23 ::: Tilak 17/17 FA-535-13(J) investment as to fixed deposit etc of the portion of the compensation amount as it may deem fit, to ensure timely and recurrent future assistance, to provide continued periodical subsistence for the poor, needy claimants- dependents, if necessary by enabling them individually to withdraw the interest accrued periodically or lump sum amounts when needed to meet exigencies in the family. The amounts deposited in this Court with interest accrued shall be sent back to the Tribunal for to enable it to do the needful for proper and effective execution of the Award. The appeal is allowed with costs accordingly.
(A.P. BHANGALE, J) ::: Downloaded on - 27/11/2013 20:29:23 :::