Rajasthan High Court - Jodhpur

Smt. Geeta Devi And Ors vs Devi Lal And Ors. (2025:Rj-Jd:1101) on 8 January, 2025

Author: Rekha Borana

Bench: Rekha Borana

[2025:RJ-JD:1101]

      HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT
                       JODHPUR
                    S.B. Civil Misc. Appeal No. 1711/2014

Smt. Geeta Devi And Ors.
                                                                      ----Appellants
                                       Versus
Devi Lal And Ors.
                                                                    ----Respondents


For Appellant(s)             :     Mr. Ravi Panwar
For Respondent(s)            :     Mr. Vishal Singhal



              HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE REKHA BORANA

                                        Order

08/01/2025

1.    The appeal is reported to barred by 242 days.

2.    An application under Section 5 of the Limitation Act has been

filed for condonation of the said delay.

3.    The service on application under Section 5 of the Limitation

Act is complete.

4.    For the reasons stated in the application under Section 5 of

the Limitation Act, the same is allowed. The delay caused in filing

the present appeal is condoned.

5.    Admit. Issue notice.

      Service on respondent Nos.1, 2 & 4 is dispensed with at the

request of learned counsel for the appellants-claimants and at the

risk of the appellants-claimants.

      Learned counsel Mr. Vishal Singhal has put in appearance for

respondent No.3-Insurance Company. Hence, service is complete.




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6.    At the request of learned counsels for the appellants-

claimants and the Insurance Company, the matter has been heard

finally.

7.    The present misc. appeal has been filed by the appellants-

claimants seeking enhancement of the compensation amount

awarded vide judgment/award dated 20.11.2013 passed by the

Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Sojat, District Pali in MAC Case

No. 73/2011.

      The learned Tribunal, vide impugned judgment/award dated

20.11.2013 awarded a sum of Rs.7,01,960/- in favour of the

claimants alongwith interest @9% per annum from the date of

filing of the claim petition.

8.    Brief facts as pleaded in the claim petition are that on

13.08.2011, Tikamchand was en route from Devgarh to Sojat,

carrying vegetables in his pickup bearing registration no. RJ

27/GA/7416. The pickup was being driven by Raju. The pickup

being driven rashly and negligently by the driver upended and met

with an accident. Unfortunately, due to the accident, Raju

succumbed to his injuries, and Tikamchand sustained grievous

injuries. However, during the course of treatment, Tikamchand

also died.

      The offending vehicle, on the date of accident, was insured

with respondent No.3 - Insurance Company.

9.    The appellants-claimants are the dependants of deceased

Tikamchand. The learned Tribunal after framing the issues,

evaluating the evidence available on record and after hearing the

counsel for the parties, while assessing the monthly income of the

deceased to be Rs.4,836/-, awarded total compensation of

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Rs.7,01,960/- in favour of the appellants-claimants, the breakup

of which is as under:


1.    Income     per   month      (after                Rs.3,627/-
      deduction    towards     personal
      expenses (1/4) in the monthly
      income of Rs.4,836 /-)
2.    Loss of Income (as per the                        Rs.3,627x12x15           =
      age of 35 years of the                            Rs.6,52,860/-
      deceased, multiplier of 15).
3.    Under the head of 'consortium'                    Rs.35,000/-
      and 'Funeral expenses'
4.    Under the head of 'medical                        Rs.14,100/-
      expenses'
7.    Amount awarded by the Tribunal                    Rs.7,01,960/-

          Learned Tribunal also awarded interest @ 9% per annum

from the date of filing of the claim petition i.e. 12.10.2011.

10. Learned counsel for the appellants raised only three grounds:

(i) Firstly, the learned Tribunal committed a significant error in its

adjudication by providing insufficient compensation qua the

conventional heads.

(ii) Secondly, the learned Tribunal erred in omitting to take into

consideration       the    future       prospects        of    the    deceased   while

computing the loss of income, which is in total contravention to

principles/guidelines as laid down in the case of National

Insurance Company Limited Vs. Pranay Sethi and Ors.;

(2017) 16 SCC 680.

(iii) Thirdly, learned Tribunal erred in applying multiplier of 15

whereas, keeping into consideration the age of the deceased, i.e.,

35 years, a multiplier of 16 ought to have been applied in terms of

the guidelines as set out in the case of Sarla Verma and Ors.




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Vs. Delhi Transport Corporation and Ors.; (2009) 6 SCC

121.

11.       Learned counsel for the respondent Insurance Company

is not in a position to refute the legal position regarding the above

submissions. He however submits that if the Court is inclined to

enhance the compensation amount, the interest for the period of

delay in filing the present appeal i.e. 242 days, be not awarded to

the appellants-claimants.

12.    Learned counsel for the appellants-claimants does not object

to the said proposition.

13.    Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the

material available on record.

14.    So far as the amount to be awarded under the conventional

heads is concerned, the Hon'ble Apex Court, in the case of

Pranay Sethi (supra), has fixed the amount payable under the

conventional heads, namely, loss of estate, loss of consortium and

funeral    expenses    to     be     Rs.     15,000/-,        Rs.   40,000/-   and

Rs.15,000/- respectively. Therefore, this Court is of the opinion

that the said amount under conventional heads shall be payable to

the appellants-claimants.

15.    A bare perusal of the award passed by the learned Tribunal

shows that the age of the deceased was 35 years as per the injury

report (Exhibit 10) and the postmortem report (Exhibit 11).

Hence, with regard to the deceased's future prospects and the

multiplier linked to the deceased's age, this Court draws upon the

precedent set in the case of Sarla Verma (supra) and decides

that addition for the deceased's future prospects will be at the rate

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of 40% and the multiplier corresponding to the deceased's age will

be 16.

16.   Consequently, the present appeal is partly allowed and the

impugned judgment/award dated 20.11.2013 passed by the Motor

Accident Claims Tribunal, Sojat, District Pali in MAC Case No.

73/2011 is modified to the extent that the appellants-claimants

shall be entitled to the following compensation:

1.           Income    per    month     (after             Rs.5,077.8/-
             addition of future prospects
             (40%)    and   deductions     for
             personal expenses (1/4) in the
             monthly income of Rs.4,836/-)
2.           Loss of Annual Income (as per                 Rs.5,077.8x12x16 =
             the age of 35 years of the                    Rs.9,74,937/-
             deceased, multiplier of 16).
3.           Under the head of 'consortium'             Rs.40,000x6               =
                                                        Rs.2,40,000/-
4.           Under the head of 'loss                 of Rs.15,000/-
             estate'
5.           Under the head of 'Funeral                    Rs.15,000/-
             expenses'
6.           Under the head of 'Medical                    Rs.14,100/-
             expenses'
7.           Total amount of compensation                  Rs.12,59,037/-
8.           Amount awarded by Tribunal                    Rs.7,01,960/-
9.           Enhanced        amount       of                 Rs.12,59,037/-
             compensation                                  - Rs.7,01,960/-
                                                           --------------------

Rs. 5,57,077/-

17. The enhanced amount shall carry interest @ 6% from the

date of filing of the claim petition till the actual payment is made.

However, no interest shall be paid for the period of 242 days of

delay in filing the present appeal. The respondent insurance

company is directed to deposit the award amount (if not deposited

yet) and the enhanced amount of compensation with the Tribunal

within a period of two months from the date of receipt of the copy

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of this order, failing which, the same shall carry interest @ 7.5%

per annum from the date of this order till actual realization. Upon

deposition, the learned Tribunal is directed to disburse the same to