Sita Kaur & Ors. vs Munna Lal & Ors.
2011 Latest Caselaw 6007 Del

$~19
*    IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

                          Date of Decision: December 08, 2011
+     MAC.APP. NO.706/2011

      SITA KAUR & ORS                      ..... Appellants
                   Through            Mr. O.P. Mainnie, Advocate

                   versus

      MUNNA LAL & ORS                        ..... Respondents
                  Through             Mr. Sameer Nandwani, Advocate for
                                      respondent No.3.
      CORAM:
      HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE G.P. MITTAL

                            JUDGMENT

% G.P. MITTAL, J. (ORAL)

1. The appellants seek enhancement of compensation in respect of death of Fakir Singh who was aged 64 years on the date of accident. The Tribunal in the absence of any evidence as to the deceased's income at his age of 64 years took the notional income at ` 15,000/- per annum, deducted 1/3rd towards the personal expenses, applied the multiplier of '7' to the deceased's age and calculated the dependency as ` 84,000/-. In addition, the Tribunal awarded a sum of ` 10,000/- each towards loss of consortium, loss of love and affection, loss of estate and funeral charges and computed total compensation at ` 1,24,000/-.

2. The appellants' grievance is that the Tribunal ought to have taken into consideration the minimum wages in the absence of any proof of the deceased's income. It is urged that even if notional income was to be considered, an amount of at least Rs.3,000/- per month ought to have been taken as deceased's income. Reliance is placed on Laxmi Devi & Ors. Vs. Mohd. Tubbar & Anr, 2008 4 Scale 983.

3. In Laxmi Devi & Ors. (Supra), the deceased was aged 35 years and that is why, the deceased's income was taken as Rs.3,000/- per month even in the absence of any evidence with regard to the income. The Courts, by and large, have been adopting the minimum wages for calculating the dependency where positive evidence as to the deceased's income is not available. In the instant case, the deceased was aged 64 years. He had a married son namely Ravinder Singh and four married daughters namely Surender Kaur, Rajender Kaur, Seema and Poonam, apart from an unmarried daughter Satnam Kaur. A plea was raised before the Tribunal to consider the minimum wages as the deceased's income which was rejected by the Tribunal on the ground that there was no evidence that the deceased was physically fit to work for 8-9 hours a day so as to calculate dependency on minimum wages.

4. Laxmi Devi & Ors. (Supra) is not attracted to the facts of the instant case as the deceased in that case was aged 35 years. Considering the deceased's age and in the absence of any specific evidence, the Tribunal rightly took the notional income as ` 15,000/- per annum to calculate the dependency.

5. I do not find any ground to interfere in the award. The appeal is devoid of any merit; is accordingly dismissed. No costs.

(G.P. MITTAL) JUDGE DECEMBER 08, 2011 pst