Orissa High Court
The Divisional Manager vs Jag Narayan Sharma And Others on 29 August, 2022
IN THE HIGH COURT OF ORISSA AT CUTTACK
MACA No.619 of 2018
The Divisional Manager, .... Appellant
United India Insurance Co. Ltd.
Mr.S.Satpathy, Advocate
-versus-
Jag Narayan Sharma and others .... Respondents
Mr.K.Panigrahi, Advocate for Respondent Nos.1 & 2
CORAM:
JUSTICE B. P. ROUTRAY
ORDER
29.8.2022
Order No.
09. 1. The matter is taken up through Hybrid mode.
2. Heard Mr.Satpathy, learned counsel for the Appellant-
Insurer and Mr.Panigrahi, learned counsel for claimants-
Respondent Nos.1 & 2.
3. Present appeal by the Insurer-Appellant is against the
judgment dated 28th February, 2018 of the 1st Additional District
Judge-cum-IIIrd M.A.C.T., Rourkela in MAC Case No.220 of
2016, wherein compensation to the tune of Rs.43,45,000/- has
been granted along with interest @6% per annum with effect
from the date of filing of the claim application on account of
death of the deceased in the motor vehicular accident on 6th
January, 2016.
4. Mr.Satpathy, learned counsel for the Appellant submits
that the assessment of monthly income made by the Tribunal
based on the appointment letter and salary certificate of the
deceased under Exts. 14 and 15 are forged documents and have
not been properly proved by the claimants. Therefore the income
of the deceased to the tune of Rs28,200/- per month as taken by
the Appellant is grossly illegal.
5. Upon hearing Mr.Panigrahi, learned counsel for the
claimants and perusal of the impugned judgment, it reveals that
the Tribunal has accepted the monthly income of the deceased at
Rs.28,200/- accepting the contentions of the claimants that the
deceased was working as an Office Assistant in Klean Facility
Management Services, Noida (U.P.) and drawing salary of
Rs.28,200/- per month. The original documents filed under
Exts.14 & 15 are relied on by the Tribunal for the purpose. But
the Insurer presently files I.A.No.52 of 2019 along with report of
his investigator stating that such certificates allegedly issued in
favour of the deceased are fake documents and the deceased was
never an employee of Klean Facility Management Services,
Noida.
6. Such contention raised to treat Exts.14 & 15 as fake
documents and that the deceased was not an employee of Klean
Facility Management Services, Noida based on the report of the
investigator of the Insurance Company is found unacceptable for
the reason that the investigator's report has no evidentiary value
who has no direct knowledge about the facts. At the same time it
needs to be mentioned that if the onus is on the party who relies
on such private documents under Exts.14 & 15 to prove the
contents thereof by bringing the author of the documents to the
witness box. The claimants did not examine the author of the
documents and thus have failed to discharge their onus in proving
the contents of Exts.14 & 15 and therefore complete reliance on
the same by the Tribunal is found erroneous. Nevertheless, the
qualification of the deceased as Bachelor in Computer
Application course is never disputed. He was an young man aged
about 28 years and therefore the presumption would be that he
would have his own source of income. In commensurate to his
qualification and by doing some guess work, the monthly income
of the deceased can safely be assessed at Rs.15,000/- irrespective
of the income mentioned in Exts.14 & 15. Such assessment of the
income at the rate of Rs.15,000/- per month by this Court is
agreed by Mr.Panigrahi, learned counsel for the claimants and
Mr.Satpathy does not seriously dispute that.
7. So computation of loss of dependency based on such
income at Rs.15,000/- per month after adding 40% towards future
prospects and deducting 50% towards personal expenses, the
deceased being a bachelor, and applying multiplier 17 along with
addition of Rs.1,10,000/- towards loss of consortium and general
damages, comes to Rs.22,52,000/-(Twenty two lakhs fifty two
thousand) payable along with interest at the rate of 6% per
annum.
8. In the result, the appeal is disposed of with a direction
to the Appellant-Insurer to deposit the reduced compensation
amount of Rs.22,52,000/-(Twenty two lakhs fifty two thousand)
along with interest @6% per annum from the date of filing of the
claim application within a period of two months from today,
which shall be disbursed in favour of the claimants on such terms
and proportion to be fixed by the Tribunal.
9. The statutory deposit made by the Appellant with
accrued interest thereon be refunded to him on proper application
and on production of proof of deposit of the award amount before
the learned Tribunal.
10. Urgent certified copy of this order be granted on proper
application.
( B.P. Routray)
Judge
C.R.Biswal
