IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA, BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 11TH DAY OF MARCH, 2019 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MOHAMMAD NAWAZ MISCELLANEOUS FIRST APPEAL No.4957/2010 (MV) Between:
1. Smt. Girija, W/o. Late Narayanaswamy, Aged 29 years, 2. Kum. Sonakshi, D/o Late Narayanaswamy, Aged 06 years, 3. Kum. Sangeetha, D/o Late Narayanaswamy, Aged 04 years, 4. Sri. Poojappa, S/o. Late Mellagaiah, Aged 71 years, 5. Smt. Jayalakshmamma, W/o. Sri. Poojappa, Aged about 53 years, Since petitioner No.2 to 3 are minors Are Represented by their mother and natural Guardian i.e., First appellant All residing at Chikkanahalli, Tavareker Hobli, Bangalore South Taluk, Bangalore-
... Appellants (By Smt. G.K.Sreevidya, Advocate For Sri T.N.Vishwanath, Advocate) And:
1. The Oriental Insurance Company Ltd, Rep by its Divisional manager, DO XII, Jayalakshmi Mansions, II floor, No1001/56, Dr. Rajkumar Road, Rajajinagar, Bangalore – 560 010.
2. Sri. V.N.Murthy, Aged Major, Residing at No.381, 3rd Main, 9th Cross, Bapujinagar RPC layout, Bangalore – 560 040.
(By Sri R.Rajagopalan, Advocate for R1;
... Respondents R2 notice dispensed with vide order dated 02.02.2012) This Miscellaneous First Appeal is filed under Section 173(1) of MV Act, against the judgment and award dated 22.10.2008 passed in MVC No.6447/2007 on the file of the XVIII, Additional Judge & Court of small Causes, Member MACT Bangalore, partly allowing the claim petition for compensation and seeking enhancement of compensation and etc., This Appeal coming on for Final Hearing, this day, the Court delivered the following:
J U D G M E N T Heard Smt. G.K.Sreevidya, learned counsel appearing for the appellants.
2. This appeal is preferred by the claimants seeking enhancement of compensation awarded by the tribunal for the death of one Sri. Narayanaswamy, who died in a road traffic accident, which occurred on 01.08.2007.
3. The claimants are the widow, two minor children and the parents of the deceased. It is the case of the claimants that on 01.08.2007 at about 4.00 p.m. when the deceased was proceeding in a TVS Victor motor cycle bearing No. KA-02-ES-9326 as a pillion rider, the rider of the said motor cycle rode the same in a rash and negligent manner and dashed against one person who was standing on the left side of the road. As a result of the said accident, the deceased Narayanaswamy fell down from the motor cycle and sustained grevious injuries and he was hospitalized and subsequently he died in the hospital on 07.08.2007 due to the accidental injuries. It is the case of the claimants that the deceased was aged 28 years and he was doing coolie work and earning a sum of `6,000/- per month. Before the Tribunal, the claim petition was filed seeking a total compensation of `20,00,000/- for the death of Narayanaswamy. On behalf of the claimants, two witnesses were examined and Exs.P.1-P.10 were marked. On behalf of the respondent, RW-1 was examined and Exs.R1 to R2 were got marked.
4. The Tribunal after considering the evidence and material on record, awarded a total compensation of `4,34,000/- under the following heads:
Heads Amount in rupees Loss of dependency 3,84,000.00 Transportation of the dead body and funeral expenses 10,000.00 Loss of estate 20,000.00 Loss of consortium to the 1st petitioner 20,00.00 Total 4,34,000.00 Seeking enhancement of compensation awarded by the Tribunal, learned counsel appearing for the appellants contended that the deceased was earning a sum of `6,000/- per month by doing coolie work and he was maintaining the entire family consisting of five members out of his income and therefore, the income taken by the Tribunal, as well as deduction of 1/3rd towards personal expenses is inappropriate. It is her further contention that no addition has been made towards future prospects and it is also contended that compensation awarded under the conventional heads is also on the lower side and accordingly, the learned counsel seeks to enhance the compensation.
5. It is the contention of the learned counsel for the appellants that the deceased was earning a sum of `6,000/- by doing coolie work. Apart from the oral evidence, there is no other satisfactory material produced to show that the deceased was having a income of `6,000/- per month. However, considering the fact that accident is of the year 2007 and considering the avocation of the deceased and the dependents, I am of the view that a sum of `3,500/- may be taken as the Notional Income of the deceased. There are five dependants, hence, 1/4th of the amount has to be deducted towards personal expenses. In addition, deceased being aged 28 years, 40% of the income has to be added towards future prospects. The appropriate multiplier applicable is 17 to the age of the deceased. Hence, the appellants/claimants are entitled for a total compensation of `7,49,700/- (3,500+1400- 1225=3675X12X17) towards loss of dependency. In view of the judgment of the Hon’ble Apex Court in the case of National Insurance Company Ltd. Vs. Pranay Sethi and others reported in AIR 2017 SC 5157, a sum of `70,000/- is to be awarded under the conventional heads as against `50,000/- awarded by the Tribunal and therefore, the appellants are entitled for a total compensation of `8,19,700/- which is rounded off to `8,20,000/- as against `4,34,000/- awarded by the tribunal.
Accordingly, I pass the following order:
The appeal is allowed in part. The judgment and award dated 22.10.2008 passed in MVC No.6447/2007 on the file of the MACT, Court of Small Causes, Bangalore is here by modified. The appellants/claimants are entitled for a total compensation of `8,19,700/- as against `4,34,000/- awarded by the tribunal with interest @ 6% from the date of petition till its realization.
6. The appellants/claimants are not entitled for interest for a period of 454 days, in view of the delay in filing the present appeal, as per the order dated 02.02.2012 passed by this Court The apportionment and disbursement shall be in terms of the award passed by the Tribunal.
sd/- JUDGE DS