Santosh Kumari & Others vs Ram Swaroop & Others
2000 Latest Caselaw 738 Del

Citation : 2000 Latest Caselaw 738 Del
Judgement Date : 1 August, 2000

Delhi High Court

Santosh Kumari & Others vs Ram Swaroop & Others on 1 August, 2000

Equivalent citations: 2000 VIIAD Delhi 1084, 88 (2000) DLT 42, 2000 (56) DRJ 550, 2001 RLR 241

Author: Khan

Bench: B Khan

ORDER

Khan, J.

1. One Mangat Ram, a vegetable seller died in a road accident on 15th April, 1989. Appellants filed Suit No. 148/89 for grant of compensation on 22.5.1989. MACT assessed the annual income of deceased at Rs. 1500/- P.M, deducted Rs. 500/- for his personal expenses and determined the depending at Rs. 1000/- P.M and applied a multiplier of 13 to it to award compensa- tion of Rs. 1.56 lacs with 12% interest.

2. Appellants feel dissatisfied and have filed the Appeal for enhancement of compensation. The only plea taken by their counsel was that MACT had applied a low multiplier of 13 when it ought to be 17 as per Amendment Act 54 of 1954 which came in force from 14.11.1994.

3. A perusal of impugned award shows that MACT had applied the multiplier of 13 in the light of Apex Court judgment in Sushma Thomas case. It could not have applied the multiplier as per the schedule brought in force by 54 amendment because that was applicable prospectively from 14.11.1994. But all the same Tribunal ought to have taken in regard the subsequent judgment of Apex Court in U.P. Road Transport Corporation case (1996 AC) 831 provid- ing for maximum multiplier of 18 and also the schedule brought in by the amendment, for applying a reasonable multiplier because it was passing the award in 1997. That was permissible even under the DB judgment of this Court in Rattan Lal Mehta Vs. Rajinder Kapoor, 1996 ACJ 372.

4. Therefore, given regard to that and age of deceased and also the fact that Appellants had been pursuing their Appeal for the last three years or, it would just and reasonable in the circumstances to apply a multiplier of 16 to determined depending of Rs. 1000/- P.M. to bring up the compensation amount to Rs. 1,92,000/-, rounded upto Rs. 1.90 lacs. No interest shall be payable on the enhanced amount. The impugned award shall stand modified to that extent and the balance amount shall be paid to Appellants by the Insurer within two months from receipt of this order.