New India Assurance Co. Ltd. vs New India Assurance Co. Ltd.
2011 Latest Caselaw 3434 Del

*     IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

%                              Date of Judgment: 19.07.2011

+            MAC APPEAL No. 398/2010

NEW INDIA ASSURANCE CO. LTD.
                                                 ...........Appellant
                          Through:   Mr. Sameer Nandwani,
                                     Advocate.

                   Versus

DEEPA BISHT & OTHERS
                                               ..........Respondent
                          Through:   Mr. Brahma Nand Prashant,
                                     Advocate.

CORAM:
HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE INDERMEET KAUR

    1. Whether the Reporters of local papers may be allowed to
       see the judgment?

    2. To be referred to the Reporter or not?             Yes

    3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest?
                                                         Yes

INDERMEET KAUR, J. (Oral)

1 This appeal has impugned the Award dated 24.04.2010. The

appeal has been filed by the Insurance Company. Contention is

that the future prospects have been awarded in favour of the

deceased although there was no evidence with the Tribunal of the

deceased having a permanent job; he was only a businessman.

The second contention is that under the head of "love and

affection", a sum of `1 lac had been awarded; a token amount

could alone have been awarded.

2 The claimants had preferred a petition under Section 166 of

the Motor Vehicle Act (hereinafter referred to as the „MV Act‟).

Mr. Bhim Rak Bisht had died in an accident which had taken place

on 07.02.2007. He was on a motorcycle when the motorcycle hit a

truck coming from the opposite side; the deceased succumbed to

his injuries. Compensation in the sum of `19,25,000/- had been

awarded in favour of the claimants. Learned Tribunal had framed

three issues. The widow of the deceased had been examined as

PW-1. She had tendered income tax returns of her husband for the

assessment year 2005-06 reflecting his income on his business to

be `1,27,956/-; income tax returns for the years 2006-07 had

however not been placed on record. There was only one return; it

had been verified from the Department and was found to be

correct. On this basis, the average income of the deceased was

computed to be `1 lac annually. PW-1 had deposed that her

husband had a regular income; this aspect had been borne in

mind by the Tribunal to grant future prospects which were rightly

considered. A catena of judgment of this Court as reported in 2008

ACJ 2182 (Delhi) Kanwar Devi Vs. Bansal Roadways, 2007 ACJ 2165

(Delhi) Lekhraj Vs. Suram Singh and 2009 ACJ 1921 (Delhi) National

Insurance Co. Ltd. Vs. Renu Devi have held so. It is also not the

case of the Insurance Company that the deceased was not having

a business or that this business would not be continuing in the

future. Future prospects were rightly awarded. This finding calls

for no interference.

3 A sum of `1 lac had been awarded as non-pecuniary

damages under the head of "love and affection". The claimants in

this case were 4 persons; they were the widow, two minor

children and mother of the deceased. The mother was aged 62

years; the minor children were aged 6 & 3 years respectively.

Time and again the Courts have held that money cannot

compensate the love and affection that has been lost by the near

and dear ones of the deceased; in this case two minor children of

tender years have lost the love and affection of their father in

their growing years. The Tribunal had awarded a sum of `25,000/-

for each of the four dependents i.e. `1 lac under this head of "love

and affection". This finding calls for no interference. In Kailash

Kaur & Another Vs. New India Insurance Company Ltd. in MAC

APPEAL No. 318/2008 decided on 24.03.2009, such an amount

was upheld. The Impugned Award on no count calls for any

interference. Appeal is without any merit.

Dismissed.

INDERMEET KAUR, J.

JULY 19, 2011 a