Dalpatsinh Dasubha Jadeja Father ... vs Dineshkumar Karsandas Bhil

                                                                                    NEUTRAL CITATION




     C/FA/2316/2019                               JUDGMENT DATED: 04/08/2023

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             IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD

                      R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 2316 of 2019


FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNATURE :


HONOURABLE MS. JUSTICE GITA GOPI                     Sd/-

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1    Whether Reporters of Local Papers may be allowed to see No
     the judgment ?

2    To be referred to the Reporter or not ?                                   No

3    Whether their Lordships wish to see the fair copy of the No
     judgment ?

4    Whether this case involves a substantial question of law as No
     to the interpretation of the Constitution of India or any
     order made thereunder ?


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     DALPATSINH DASUBHA JADEJA FATHER OF DECD HIMMATSINH
                            Versus
                 DINESHKUMAR KARSANDAS BHIL
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Appearance:
MR HEMAL SHAH(6960) for the Appellant(s) No. 1,2,3
MADANSINGH O BAROD(3128) for the Defendant(s) No. 1,2
MR DAKSHESH MEHTA(2430) for the Defendant(s) No. 6
MR RATHIN P RAVAL(5013) for the Defendant(s) No. 3
MR. RUSHANG D MEHTA(6989) for the Defendant(s) No. 6
RULE SERVED for the Defendant(s) No. 5
UNSERVED EXPIRED (N) for the Defendant(s) No. 4
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    CORAM:HONOURABLE MS. JUSTICE GITA GOPI

                              Date : 04/08/2023

                             ORAL JUDGMENT

NEUTRAL CITATION C/FA/2316/2019 JUDGMENT DATED: 04/08/2023 undefined

1. By way of this Appeal, the Appellants-claimants have challenged the judgment and award dated 04.07.2018 passed by the learned Motor Accident Claim Tribunal (Aux.) & 9th (Ad-Hoc) Additional District Court, Anjar- Kachchh in M.A.C.P. No.882 of 2015 which was originally numbered as M.A.C.P. No.361 of 2010 registered at Gandhidham-Kachchh and was thereafter transferred to Anjar-Kachchh.

2. The facts as can be enumerated are that on 02.07.2010, at about 21.00 hours, the deceased was travelling in a Maruti Swift Car bearing Registration No.GJ-12-AE-8834 and was on the road, and as per the claimants, suddenly the respondent No.1 stopped his Truck bearing Registration No.GJ-24-GA-0395 without any signal / warning, as a result of which the Maruti Swift Car dashed behind the truck. Grievous injuries were sustained by the deceased, as a result of which the deceased died on the spot.

3. Learned Advocate for the appellants - claimants Mr. Hemal Shah submitted that the appeal has been raised on the ground that the compensation amount Page 2 of 7 Downloaded on : Sun Sep 17 00:15:47 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/FA/2316/2019 JUDGMENT DATED: 04/08/2023 undefined granted ought to have been granted on the basis of the Minimum Wages Schedule prevalent at the relevant time. It is further submitted that the learned Tribunal after considering the evidence on record has attributed negligence in equal proportion to both the vehicles. The claimants had produced the evidence by way of examination-in-chief at Exhibit 32 stating that the deceased was in the business of farming and was earning Rs.8,000/- per month. It is further submitted that claimants could not produce any other documentary evidence to support the claim of income and hence, the learned Tribunal could have appreciated the Minimum Wages Schedule to consider the 'consumer price index' and 'inflation ratio'.

4. Countering the above arguments, learned Advocate Mr. Rathin P. Raval for the respondent No.3 - The United India Insurance Company Limited and learned Advocate Mr. Rushabh D. Mehta for the respondent No.6 - Royal Sundaram Alliance Insurance Company Limited submitted that since the claimants could not produce any documentary evidence to substantiate the Page 3 of 7 Downloaded on : Sun Sep 17 00:15:47 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/FA/2316/2019 JUDGMENT DATED: 04/08/2023 undefined fact of income, the learned Tribunal has rightly considered the income and the dependency loss granted therein is just and reasonable.

5. Having heard learned Advocates for the respective parties, perused the records of the case. At the time of the accident, the deceased was aged 24 years, considering the Driving License and Birth Certificate produced at Exhibits 46 and 48. The date of accident is 02.07.2010. The deceased as submitted was working in a Farm. Though no evidence in the form of Salary Slip was produced, since the deceased was engaged in farming activity, the learned Tribunal could have placed reliance on the Minimum Wages Schedule to consider the income. Considering the date of accident, the deceased falls in the category of unskilled labourer and therefore, Rs.4,500/- per month can be considered as the income of the deceased.

6. The learned Tribunal has granted 40% prospective rise in income, the income can be arrived at as Rs.5,740/- per month (i.e. Rs.4,100/- plus 40% Page 4 of 7 Downloaded on : Sun Sep 17 00:15:47 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION C/FA/2316/2019 JUDGMENT DATED: 04/08/2023 undefined increase, i.e. Rs.1,640/-) and after deduction of one- third as personal expenses, the same can be considered as Rs.3,827/- per month (i.e. Rs.,5740/- minus 1/3 amount of Rs.5,740/-, i.e. Rs.1,913/-). Applying the multiplier of 18, the dependency loss can be arrived at Rs.8,26,632/- (Rs.3,827/- x 12 x 18 multiplier).

7. In this case, the dependents are the parents and widow of the deceased, i.e. total three dependents. Considering the decision of the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Magma General Insurance Co. Ltd vs Nanu Ram Alias Chuhru Ram reported in 2018 ACJ 2782, the loss of consortium amount can be considered @ Rs.1,20,000/- (3 dependents x Rs.40,000/- each).

8. Considering the decision of the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of National Insurance Company Limited v. Pranay Sethi and Others reported in 2017 16 SCC 680, under the heads of loss of Estate and Funeral Expenses, amount of Rs.15,000/- each can be granted.

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9. Therefore, the computation can be made as under :-

                       Details                  Amount (Rs.)
      Loss of Dependency                               8,26,632/-
      Loss of Consortium                               1,20,000/-
      Loss of Estate                                      15,000/-
      Funeral Expenses                                    15,000/-
                       TOTAL                           9,76,632/-

10. The learned Tribunal has laid down the liability of both the vehicles and has awarded an amount of Rs.6,74,800/- with rate of interest @ 7.5% per annum. Therefore, the respondents No.1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 are liable to deposit the enhanced amount of as Rs.3,01,832/- (Rs.9,76,632/- minus Rs.6,74,800/-). In the result, the present respondents No.1,2,3,4,5 and 6, joint and severally are directed to deposit the enhanced amount within a period of EIGHT (8) WEEKS from the date of receipt of writ of the order of this Court. It is further directed that the claimants would be entitled to receive the enhanced compensation @ 7.5.% per annum from the date of the application and the disbursement of the amount be made as per the judgment and award of the learned Tribunal.

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11. In view of the above, the Appeal is allowed and the judgment and award dated 04.07.2018 passed by the learned Motor Accident Claim Tribunal (Aux.) & 9th (Ad-Hoc) Additional District Court, Anjar-Kachchh in M.A.C.P. No.882 of 2015 stands modified to the above extent. Record and proceedings, if any, be sent back to the concerned Court / Tribunal forthwith.

Sd/-

(GITA GOPI, J) Caroline Page 7 of 7 Downloaded on : Sun Sep 17 00:15:47 IST 2023