Chattisgarh High Court
Smt. Nanda Aaswani vs Banshi Lal Patel on 23 January, 2025
1
2024:CGHC:39189
AFR
HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH, BILASPUR
Judgment reserved on : 25.10.2024
Judgment delivered on : 23.01.2025
MAC No. 1732 of 2019
1 - Smt. Nanda Aaswani S/o Shri Heeranand Aaswani Aged About 60 Years
R/o Matatoli Gondiya Maharashtra.
2 - Smt. Kavita Bhagtani W/o Shri Suresh Bhagtani Aged About 50 Years
R/o Bargad Orissa.
3 - Smt. Jyoti Poptani W/o Shri Jai Kumar Poptani Aged About 38 Years R/o
Bargad Orissa.
4 - Smt. Pinki Wadhwani W/o Late Shri Basant Kumar Wadhwani Aged
About 48 Years R/o Baniyapara, Dhamtari, Tahsil And District Dhamtari
Chhattisgarh.
5 - Smt. Madhu Vajirani W/o Shri Anil Vajirani Aged About 45 Years R/o
Vivekanand Colony Street No. 03, Dhamtari, Tahsil And District Dhamtari
Chhattisgarh.
6 - Smt. Shobha Thawrani W/o Shri Pawan Thawrani Aged About 40 Years
R/o Santoshi Nagar, Raipur Chhattisgarh.
... Appellants
versus
1 - Banshi Lal Patel S/o Shri Ramaiyya Patel Aged About 34 Years R/o
Village And Post Kandel, Police Station Arjuni, District Dhamtari
Chhattisgarh. (Driver).
2 - Abdul Gaffar S/o Mohd. Shafi, Resident Of Sadar Bazar, Dhamtari, Tahsil
And District Dhamtari (Owner).
3 - Branch Manager The Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. M.B. Trade
2
Centre, Near Ghadi Chowk, Dhamtari, Post. Police Station, Tahsil And
District Dhamtari Chhattisgarh.
... Respondents
For Appellants : Mr. Hemant Kumar Agrawal, Advocate.
For Respondents 1 & 2 : None, though served.
For Respondent No.3 : Mr. PK Tulsiyan, Advocate.
Hon'ble Shri Justice Arvind Kumar Verma
C A V Judgment
1. This is claimants' appeal seeking enhancement of compensation
passed by Additional Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, (FTC),
Dhamtari, (CG), (for short, the Claims Tribunal) in Claim Case
No.106/2018 vide impugned award dated 22.02.2019 (Annexure P-1).
2. As per the pleadings of the claim application, the accident occurred on
01.12.2011. The deceased by name Vinod Jaswani, while proceeding
on his motorcycle, was knocked down to death by the vehicle Metador
bearing registration No.CG-05/D-0124 (in short, offending vehicle),
owned by Non-applicant No.2, driven by non-applicant No.1 and
insured by Non-applicant No.3/insurer, which led to the Claim Petition
preferred by the appellants / claimants seeking total compensation of
Rs.22,50,000/- stating, inter alia, that the deceased was a agriculturist
and also working as a contractor and thereby earning Rs.300/- per
day.
3. The claim application was resisted by the non-applicants on various
grounds.
4. Learned Claims Tribunal framed issues on the basis of pleadings and
decided the same in favour of the appellants/claimants in Clam Case
and awarded the compensation of Rs.1,05,000/- along with interest @
6% per annum from the date of award till its realisation while directing
the Non-applicant No.3/Insurance Company to pay the amount of
compensation.
5. Learned counsel for the appellants submits that on the date of
incident, deceased was aged about 33 years and he was unmarried.
Deceased was a agriculturist and also working as a contractor and
thereby earning Rs.300/- per day and despite that the learned Claims
Tribunal has not awarded any amount towards his income.
Appellants/claimants are the real sister of deceased and appellant
No.4 being a widow, is fully dependent upon income of the deceased.
The Claims Tribunal erred in awarding very less amount towards the
head of love and affection, funeral expenses and the amounts
awarded under other conventional heads are also on lower side,
which ought to be enhanced suitably.
6. On the other hand, learned counsel for respondent No.3/Insurance
Company contended that siblings of the deceased are married, they
are residing with their husbands and children in their matrimonial
home, hence, they are not dependent upon income of the deceased.
Learned Claims Tribunal based on pleadings and material/evidence
available has rightly passed the claim and awarded just and proper
compensation to the claimants, which does call for any interference.
7. I have heard learned counsel for the respective parties and perused
the record of the Tribunal including the evidence adduced by the
parties minutely.
8. Question arises before this Court whether the married sisters of the
deceased would be dependent upon the income of deceased or not ?.
AW-1/Madhu Vajirani (appellant No.5 herein) in her evidence deposed
that 'यह कहना सही है कि नारायण दास जसवानी के 6 पुत्रिया है एवं 1 पुत्र मृतक विनोद
था। यह कहना सही है कि हमलोग सभी 6 बहनो का शादी हो गया है और हम सभी अपने
ससुराल मे निवास करते है। यह कहना सही है कि सभी बहने अपने पति एवं परिवार के
साथ जीवन यापन कर रहे है।"
9. It is undisputed fact that on the date of alleged incident deceased was
aged about 33 years and he was unmarried. Appellants/claimants are
sisters of the deceased, they all are married and resided with their
husband at her matrimonial house. Being the brother, deceased
occasionally helped his sisters, but there is no any admissible piece of
evidence available showing that appellant/claimants are dependent
upon income of the deceased.
10. Hon'ble Supreme Court in case of the New India Assurance
Company Limited versus Anand Pal & Ors passed on 04.12.2023
[SLP (Civil No.7805/2022)] held as under:
"On the above, it is necessary for us to be conscious that
there are two family registers. This would indicate that the
victim resided separately as was noted by the Motor
Accident Claims Tribunal. The siblings of the victim were
older and were married with their own respective families.
In these circumstances, they being dependent on the
victim's earnings is unlikely particularly when the victim
resided separately."
11. In the absence of the evidence to the contrary, married sisters who
are older than the deceased and resided with her husband and
children in their matrimonial house shall not be considered as
dependents as because they will either be independent and earning,
or married, or be dependent on her husband.
12. In view of above discussion and in the light of the decision of case of
New India Assurance Company Limited (supra), I am of the
considered view that learned Claims Tribunal has rightly recorded a
finding in the impugned order/judgment that claimants are not
dependent upon income of the deceased and awarded sum of
Rs.90,000/- towards love and affection and Rs.15,000/- for funeral
expenses, which needs no interference.
13. Accordingly, appeal filed by the claimants is hereby dismissed.
Sd/-
(Arvind Kumar Verma)
Judge
J.
