Rajasthan High Court
Smt. Poonam Devi W/O Late Shri Mansih ... vs Ramprasad S/O Shri Dayaram on 2 April, 2024
Author: Narendra Singh Dhaddha
Bench: Narendra Singh Dhaddha
[2024:RJ-JP:15164]
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN
BENCH AT JAIPUR
S.B. Civil Miscellaneous Appeal No. 5656/2018
1. Smt. Poonam Devi W/o Late Shri Mansih Kumar Rawat Urf
Manish Rawat, Aged About 36 Years, R/o - 8/110,
Vidhyadhar Nagar, Behind Gyan Jyoti Senior Secondary
School, Jaipur.
2. Master Kartavya Rawat S/o Late Shri Manish Kumar
Rawat Urf Manish Rawat, Aged About 12 Years, Through
Natural Guardian And Mother Smt. Poonam Devi, R/o -
8/110, Vidhyadhar Nagar, Behind Gyan Jyoti Senior
Secondary School, Jaipur.
3. Madan Lal Rawat S/o Late Shri Jagdish Narayan Rawat,
Aged About 69 Years, R/o - 8/110, Vidhyadhar Nagar,
Behind Gyan Jyoti Senior Secondary School, Jaipur.
----Appellants
Versus
1. Ramprasad S/o Shri Dayaram, R/o- Toda Raisingh, Tehsil
Toda Raisingh, Distt- Tonk (Driver Bolero No.- R.j. 26-
U.a.-1866)
2. Jagdish Jat S/o Shri Ram Jeevan Jat, R/o Bherupura,
Post- Lambakalan, Tehsil- Todaraisingh, Distt.- Tonk.
(Owner Bolero No.- Rj 26-Ua-1866).
3. New India Insurance Company Limited Through Regional
Manager, Regional Office, Nehru Palace Tonk Road, Jaipur.
Cover Note No. 195294 Valid Up To 30-4-14 To 29-4-15.
(Insurance Company Bolero No.- Rj 26-Ua-1866).
----Respondents
For Appellant(s) : Mr. K. N. Tiwari, Adv. for claimants For Respondent(s) : Mr. Rishipal Agarwal, Adv. for Insurance Company HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE NARENDRA SINGH DHADDHA Judgment DATE OF JUDGMENT 02/04/2024 (Downloaded on 09/04/2024 at 08:40:05 PM) [2024:RJ-JP:15164] (2 of 4) [CMA-5656/2018] The present appeal under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 has been preferred by the claimants-appellants (for short 'the claimants') dissatisfied with the judgment and award dated 15.09.2018 passed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal No.1, Jaipur Metropolitan, Jaipur (for short 'the Tribunal') in M.A.C.T. Case No.1059/2014, whereby the Tribunal has awarded a sum of Rs.25,90,000/- as compensation along with interest @ 7% per annum from the date of filing the claim petition in favour of the claimants.
Learned counsel for the claimants submits that deceased- Manish Kumar Rawat was running the shop named Rawat Sarees in Purohit Ji Ka Kaithla. As per Income Tax Returns, income of the deceased was Rs.3,68,683/- per annum but the Tribunal had not considered the Income Tax Returns filed by the claimants and wrongly assessed the income of the deceased as Rs.15,000/- per month. So, income of the deceased be calculated as per Income Tax Returns. Learned counsel for the claimants also submits that the Tribunal committed an error in awarding lump sum amount of Rs.40,000/- towards loss of consortium and love and affection, whereas it should be Rs.40,000/- for each claimant. So, judgment and award of the Tribunal be modified accordingly.
Learned counsel for the Insurance Company has opposed the arguments advanced by learned counsel for the claimants and submitted that the Tribunal had not committed any error because after death of Manish Kumar Rawat, Rawat Sarees continued to run the business. So, no loss of income was caused on account of his death. So, the Tribunal rightly calculated the income of the deceased as Rs.15,000/- per month. He further submitted that the (Downloaded on 09/04/2024 at 08:40:05 PM) [2024:RJ-JP:15164] (3 of 4) [CMA-5656/2018] Tribunal rightly awarded lump sum amount of Rs.40,000/- towards loss of consortium and love and affection. So, appeal be dismissed.
I have considered the arguments advanced by learned counsel for the claimants as well as learned counsel for the Insurance Company.
It is an admitted position that after death of Manish Kumar Rawat, Rawat Sarees continued to run the business. So, in my considered opinion, the Tribunal had not committed any error in assessing the income of the deceased as Rs.15,000/- per month because no loss of income was caused to the firm on account of death of Manish Kumar Rawat. The Tribunal committed error in awarding lump sum amount of Rs.40,000/- towards loss of consortium and love and affection, whereas it should be Rs.40,000/- for each claimant. So, the judgment of the Tribunal is modified to the extent as under:-
Annual Income Rs.15,000 X 12 =1,80,000/- According to the age of the Rs.1,80,000 X 15= Rs.27,00,000/- deceased i.e. 36 years, Multiplier of 15 shall be applied 1/3rd is to be deducted for Rs.27,00,000/- X 1/3= 9,00,000/- personal expenses of the (Rs.27,00,000/- - 9,00,000/-
deceased =18,00,000/-
Future Prospects Rs.18,00,000/-X 40%=7,20,000/-
(40% of the deceased' (Rs.18,00,000/- +7,20,000/- =
income) Rs.25,20,000/-
Loss of Consortium and Love
and Affection Rs.1,20,000/-
(40,000 X 3)
Loss of Estate
Rs.15,000/-
Funeral Expenses
Rs.15,000/-
(Downloaded on 09/04/2024 at 08:40:05 PM)
[2024:RJ-JP:15164] (4 of 4) [CMA-5656/2018]
Total
Rs.26,70,000/-
Less amount awarded by the
Tribunal Rs.25,90,000/-
Enhanced Amount of
compensation Rs.26,70,000 - Rs.25,90,000 =
Rs.80,000/-
The claimants are entitled to get a further sum of
Rs.80,000/- as compensation. The Insurance Company is directed to deposit enhanced amount of Rs.80,000/- (Rs.26,70,000 - Rs.25,90,000/-) with the Tribunal within a period of two months from the date of receipt of certified copy of this order. On deposition of the said amount, the claimants shall be entitled to withdraw the same. The enhanced amount shall carry @ 7% interest per annum from the date of filing of claim petition till the actual payment is made.
In the result, the appeal filed by the claimants is partly allowed.
Rest part of the impugned judgment shall remain unchanged. Impugned judgment and award is modified accordingly.
Pending application(s), if any, also stand(s) disposed of.
(NARENDRA SINGH DHADDHA),J Jatin /102 (Downloaded on 09/04/2024 at 08:40:05 PM) Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)