Telangana High Court
D.Radhika , Lavanya, vs Suresh Road Carriers, on 18 July, 2024
THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE K.SURENDER
M.A.C.M.A Nos.2831 of 2013 and 1692 of 2014
COMMON JUDMENT:
Two separate appeals have been filed by the claimant
and the Insurance Company against the Judgment and
Decree dated 22.04.2013 passed by the learned I Additional
District Judge, Ranga Reddy District at L.B.Nagar (for short
'the trial Court') in O.P.No.747 of 2010, whereunder the trial
Court granted an amount of Rs.7,60,000/- towards
compensation. The Insurance Company has filed
M.A.C.M.A.No.2831 of 2013 seeking to set aside the
impugned Order while M.A.C.M.A. No.1692 of 2014 was filed
by the claimant seeking enhancement of the compensation
granted by the trial Court.
2. Heard Sri V. V. Satish, learned counsel appearing for
the claimants and Sri R. Sheetal Kumar, learned counsel
appearing in place of Sri Ravi Shankar Jandhyala, learned
counsel for the Insurance Company and perused the record.
3. The case of the claimants is that the deceased, who is
the husband of claimant No.1, while going on his Hero Honda
Passion, the offending vehicle, which is a lorry, came in a
high speed and driven by its driver in a rash and negligent
manner and dashed the vehicle of the deceased. Resulting
which, the deceased received severe injuries and died on the
spot.
4. The manner in which the accident had taken place,
death of the deceased and the liability, are not disputed by
the Insurance Company.
5. Learned counsel appearing for the Insurance Company
would submit that it was not proved in the trial Court that
the claimants are the legal heirs of the deceased. The name of
the wife of the deceased in the pan card is shown as Radhika
(Lavanya) w/o Yadagiri. However, the Court below placed
reliance on the birth certificate of the child issued by the
Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad in the year 2005, which
reflects that the child was born on 08.09.2005 and the name
of the father reflects as D.Rajesh and mother name as
D.Radhika (Lavanya). In the said circumstances it cannot be
said that the claimants are the legal heirs of the deceased
D. Rajesh.
6. Perusal of the record, the claim is that as per
Ex.A8/salary certificate, the deceased was earning
Rs.15,000/- per month, however the employee was not
examined before the trial Court. The claimants were leading
reasonable life and claimant No.2 was a student. In the said
circumstances, it can be reasonably inferred that the income
would not be less than Rs.7,000/- per month. Therefore,
income of the deceased is fixed at Rs.7,000/- per month.
Then annual income of the deceased comes to Rs.84,000/-.
7. The grounds raised by the learned counsel appearing
for the claimants is that the trial Court has not considering
granting of 40% future prospects, as per the judgment of the
Hon'ble Supreme Court in National Insurance Co. Ltd. Vs.
Pranay Sethi 1, the consortium can also be awarded and
further the multiplier applied by the trial Court is not
appropriate.
8. In view of the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court
in Smt. Sarla Varma vs. Delhi Transport Corporation 2,
2017(6) ALD 170 (SC)
2009(6) SCC 121
the appropriate multiplier would be '17'. Therefore, the
claimants are entitled for the compensation as follows:
Sl. Head Amount
No.
01 Annual income of the deceased per Rs. 84,000/-
annum Rs.7,000/- x 12
02 Since the deceased has three Rs. 56,000/-
dependents, the income can be
deducted towards personal
expenditure 84,000/- x 1/3 =
Rs.28,000/- ; Rs.84,000 - 28,000
03 40% of actual income added as Rs. 33,600/-
future prospects
04 As per the age of the deceased, the Rs.15,23,200/-
multiplier is '17' and the loss of
dependency is
56,000/- + 33,600/- x 17
05 Consortium to claimants Rs. 1,20,000/-
3 x 40,000/-
06 Funeral expenses Rs. 15,000/-
07 Loss of estate Rs. 15,000/-
Total Rs. 16,73,200/-
9. In the result, M.A.C.M.A.No.2831 of 2013 filed by the
Insurance Company is dismissed and M.A.C.M.A.No.1692 of
2014 filed by the claimants is allowed in-part enhancing the
compensation awarded by the trial Court from Rs.7,60,000/-
to Rs. 16,73,200/- as hereunder:
(a) The enhanced amount shall carry interest at the rate
of 7.5% per annum from the date of petition till the date
of realization.
(b) The insurance company shall deposit the
compensation amount within a period of eight (8) weeks
from the date of receipt of a copy of judgment. On such
deposit, the claimants are permitted to withdraw their
proportionate shares without furnishing any security,
after depositing the deficit Court-fee. The rest of the
impugned Order holds good. There shall be no order as
to costs.
Pending miscellaneous petitions, if any, shall stand
closed.
__________________
K.SURENDER, J
Date : 18.07.2024
vsu
