Kothapally Aruna vs Chittaluri Nagalaxmi
2022 Latest Caselaw 3861 Tel

     HON'BLE SMT. JUSTICE G. ANUPAMA CHAKRAVARTHY

                    M.A.C.M.A.No.1697 of 2018
                              and
                   X-OBJECTION No.32 of 2018

COMMON JUDGMENT :

        The appeal is arising out of the judgment dated 27.02.2017,

in MVOP.No.942 of 2013 on the file of Motor Accident Claims

Tribunal-cum-Principal District Judge, Warangal. The appellants

are the claimant Nos.2 and 3 who are the parents of the deceased,

Kothapalli Balakrishna.          It is pertinent to mention that the 1st

claimant in the OP is the wife of the deceased, who filed

cross-objections      in   the     appeal   seeking   enhancement     of

compensation to Rs.18,00,000/- from Rs.11,45,000/-.

2.      For the sake of convenience, parties are referred to as

arrayed in the O.P.

3.      The Tribunal, after considering the entire material on record,

granted compensation to the claimants to a tune of Rs.11,45,000/-

with future interest @ 7.5% per annum from the date of petition till

the date of realization payable by the respondents jointly and

severally and apportioned the amount amongst the claimants, as

follows:

GAC, J MACMA.No.1697 of 2018 With X-Obj.No.32 of 2018

Claimant No.1/wife of the deceased - Rs.9,45,000/- Claimant No.2/Father of the deceased - Rs.1,00,000/- Claimant No.3/Mother of the deceased- Rs.1,00,000/-

4. Being aggrieved by the above apportionment made by the

Tribunal, the claimant Nos.2 and 3 preferred the appeal. It is the

specific contention of the appellants that the Tribunal have erred in

granting meagre compensation to them and more compensation to

the 1st claimant. It is further contended that the appellants are

blessed with only one son i.e. the deceased Kothapalli Balakrishna

and they were dependent on the earnings of their son and prayed to

grant appropriate compensation to them.

5. On the other hand, the 1st claimant, being the wife of the

deceased, filed X-Objections, seeking enhancement of

compensation but did not oppose for the apportionment of

compensation made by the Tribunal. The grounds raised by the 1st

claimant in the X-Objections are that the Tribunal has erred in

fixing the monthly income of the deceased as Rs.5,000/- instead of

Rs.11,000/- and ought to have granted interest @ 12% per annum

instead of 7.5% per annum.

6. Heard both sides and perused the record.

GAC, J MACMA.No.1697 of 2018 With X-Obj.No.32 of 2018

7. On perusal of the evidence on record, it is evident that the

deceased was aged 28 years at the time of accident and the

pleadings disclose that he used to earn Rs.12,000/- per month as a

private teacher in Montessori school at Narsampet apart from

holding partnership in the said school. But, the Tribunal have

given a finding that though PW-3 who is the Principal of the school

was examined before the Tribunal, but he did not depose about the

service certificate/Ex.A-10 to prove the income of the deceased,

which was marked through PW-1/wife of the deceased, and even in

the absence of any evidence as to the income of the deceased, the

Tribunal has taken his income as Rs.5,000/- per month basing on

the education certificates of the deceased covered under Exs.A-11

to A-18. Hence, this Court is of the considered view that there is

no error or irregularity in the orders of the Tribunal so as to

interfere with its findings with regard to the earnings of the

deceased or the percentage of interest i.e. 7.5% granted by the

Tribunal, as it is well settled that 7.5% interest has to be granted by

GAC, J MACMA.No.1697 of 2018 With X-Obj.No.32 of 2018

the Tribunals in view of the case law in Rajesh v. Rajbir Singh1.

Therefore, the X-objections are liable to be dismissed.

8. As far as the apportionment is concerned, this Court is of the

opinion that Claimant Nos.2 and 3 i.e. the parents of the deceased

are solely dependant on the earnings of the deceased, therefore,

they are entitled for compensation on par with the wife of the

deceased. Therefore, the apportionment of compensation made by

the Tribunal, is modified as under:

Claimant No.1/wife of the deceased - Rs.6,45,000/- Claimant No.2/Father of the deceased - Rs.2,50,000/- Claimant No.3/Mother of the deceased- Rs.2,50,000/-

The claimants are permitted to withdraw their respective shares of

compensation as per the above apportionment, along with costs and

interest.

9. With the above modifications, MACMA.No.1697 of 2018 is

partly allowed and X-Objection No.32 of 2018 is dismissed.

Pending miscellaneous applications, if any, shall stand closed.

________________________________ G.ANUPAMA CHAKRAVARTHY, J Date: 25.07.2022 ajr

2013 ACJ 1403