Smt.Punji And Ors vs Ganapat Lal Labana And Ors ...
2023 Latest Caselaw 7967 Raj

[2023:RJ-JD:33141]

HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT JODHPUR S.B. Civil Misc. Appeal No. 203/2005

1. Smt.Punji D/o Sh. Kachara W/o Sh. Hoorji, aged about 27 years, R/o Village Padatamana, District Banswara (Rajasthan)

2. Smt. Laxmi D/o Sh. Kachara W/o Sh. Valji, aged 25 years R/o Village Dhole Sadan, District Banswara (Rajasthan)

3. Smt. Shanta D/o Sh. Kachara W/o Sh. Partha@ Pratap, aged 22 years, R/o Village Padatamana, District Banswara (Rajasthan)

----Appellant Versus

1. Ganapat Lal Labana s/o Sh. Bhura lal Labana, r/o Village Tanda Mangala, Tehsil Kushalgarh, District Banswara.

2. The United India Insurance Company Ltd. Branch Office Opposite Kushalbagh Maidan, Banswara.

3. Prakash Chandra Patel s/o Sh. Maganlal Patel, R/o Village Veerpur, District Banswara

----Respondent

For Appellant(s) : Mr. Mahendra Trivedi For Respondent(s) : Mr. Anil Kaushik

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MADAN GOPAL VYAS

Judgment

05/10/2023

The instant civil miscellaneous appeal under Section 173,

Motor Vehicles Act is directed against the judgment and award

dated 16.09.2004 passed by the learned Motor Accident Claims

Tribunal, Banswara (hereinafter referred to as the learned

Tribunal) in Claim Case no. 173/2002 whereby the claim

application filed by the claimants-appellants under Section 166 of

the Motor Vehicles Act (for short hereinafter called; "MV Act") was

allowed in part and they were granted compensation to the tune

of Rs. 60,000/- with interest @ 6% per annum.

[2023:RJ-JD:33141] (2 of 4) [CMA-203/2005]

2. Briefly stated, the facts giving rise to the present appeal are

that on 11.05.2002, the deceased Smt. Kama was going to her

village Madali when a motorcycle bearing no. RJ-03/3 M 4163

being driven by respondent no. 3 came from behind and hit her.

The deceased sustained severe injuries and thereafter, she died. A

claim application was filed by the claimants which was partly

allowed by the learned Tribunal and a compensation of Rs.

60,000/- was awarded to claimants. Aggrieved by the said award,

the claimants have preferred the present appeal.

3. Learned counsel for the appellants-claimants submits that

the learned Tribunal has grossly erred in awarding a meager

compensation of lumpsum amount Rs. 60,000/-. It is further

submitted that the learned Tribunal has failed to consider the

evidence available on record. It is submitted that the evidence

with respect to income and age of the deceased were duly proved,

but the learned Tribunal did not pass the impugned award in

accordance with the material available on record. Learned Tribunal

has wrongly held that the claimants are married daughters and

hence not dependent on the deceased. It is submitted that this

finding of the learned Tribunal is against the settled principles of

law. In support of his contentions, learned counsel relied upon the

judgment of the New India Assurance Company Limited and Ors.

v. Somwati and Ors. reported in MANU/SC/0674/2020. Lastly, it

was prayed that the impugned judgment and award may be

modified and compensation may be enhanced.

[2023:RJ-JD:33141] (3 of 4) [CMA-203/2005]

4. Learned counsel for the respondent-Insurance Company

submits that the judgment and award passed by the learned

Tribunal is well reasoned and calls for no interference.

5. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the

material available on record.

6. I have gone through the judgment of learned Tribunal. In

para 12 of the impugned judgment, it has been held that since the

claimants were married daughters who were dependent on their

husbands, they were not dependent on the their deceased mother.

Therefore, they are not entitled to compensation under the head

of 'loss of dependency'. However, looking to the age of deceased

at the time of death (65 years) and the emotional trauma that the

daughters had to go through due to death of their mother, the

Tribunal awarded Rs 60,000/- as compensation.

7. It is a settled law that legal representatives of the deceased

have a right to apply for compensation. It is immaterial whether

they were dependent on the deceased or not. Thus, I deem it

appropriate to enhance the amount of compensation awarded by

the learned tribunal. The enhanced amount of compensation is as

represented in the tabular form below:

Total Loss of consortium Rs. 40,000x3 Rs. 1,20,000/-

     Funeral Expenses                                               Rs. 15,000/-
     Loss of Estate                                                 Rs. 15,000/-
     Total (A)                                                      Rs. 1,50,000/-
     Amount already paid (B)                                        Rs. 60,000
     Remaining amount to be paid                   C=(A-B)          Rs. 90,000/-



                                    [2023:RJ-JD:33141]                     (4 of 4)                         [CMA-203/2005]


                                         Interest @6% (D)                                             Rs. 1,17,044/-
                                         Total amount to be paid                     C+D              Rs. 2,07,044/-

8. Consequently, the present appeal is allowed. The impugned

judgment and award dated 16.04.2005 passed by the learned

Tribunal is modified and the appellants claimants are held entitled

to enhanced compensation of Rs. 2,07,044/- including interest

9. All the interlocutory applications, as well as the stay

application, if any stands disposed accordingly.

10. No order as to costs.

(MADAN GOPAL VYAS),J 12-CPG/-

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