1. The appellants herein have challenged the award dated 29.11.2002 passed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (Main) Bharuch in Motor Accident Claims Petition No. 511 of 1995 so far as the Tribunal awarded Rs. 1,45,396/- as compensation with interest and costs.
2. The original claimants had filed claim petition seeking compensation to the tune of Rs. 4 lakhs for the vehicular accident which occurred when the claimant was travelling in a car. A truck driven by the original opponent no. 1 in a rash and negligent manner came from the opposite direction and dashed with the car as a result of which he sustained injuries. The Tribunal after hearing the parties passed the aforesaid award.
3. Mr. Raval, learned advocate appearing for the appellant submitted that the Tribunal erred in calculating the future economic loss of the appellant. He submitted that the Tribunal failed to consider the income tax returns wherein the income is shown as Rs. 142275/- and instead considered only Rs. 34303/- as the income per annum. He has drawn the attention of this Court to the computation of total income at vide Mark 39/1 wherein the income is mentioned as under:
"Profit from :
Rushash auto service station 38051 Profit from surveyor & Loss Assessor 104224 Profit 142275 Loss carried forward 107972 Total Income 34303 Tax Payable NIL"
3.1 Mr Raval submitted that the disability certificate given by the doctor states the disability at 57% of the body as a whole and even if half is considered the Tribunal ought to have considered 28.5% as the disability. He further submitted that looking to the age of the claimants, the multiplier adopted is on lower side.
4. Mr.
Nair, learned advocate appearing for the respondent supported the award of the Tribunal and submitted that the same having been passed after considering the evidence in detail does not call for any interference by this Court. He submitted that in fact the Tribunal has rightly considered the income of the appellant at the time of accident as Rs. 2500/- per month. He submitted that the income tax papers were not signed by the advocate or any Chartered Accountant and the paper book is not complete.
5. In the present case the Tribunal has assessed the income of the appellant at Rs. 2500/- per month. From the evidence on record, the total income on the date of accident is Rs. 38095/- which can be rounded off to Rs. 38000/-. The documents are not signed by the advocate concerned and there is no balance sheet produced and therefore the same cannot be considered. The said income should be doubled and actual gross income should be added. By doubling, the amount would come to Rs. 76000/- and by adding current income of Rs. 38000/- it would come to Rs. 1,14,000/-. Average monthly income can be derived by dividing the same by 2. Therefore the average income would come to Rs. 57,000/-. The disability ought to have been assessed at 28.5% considering the disability certificate which says 57% disability in relation to left lower limb. Accordingly the loss of income will be Rs. 16245/- per annum.
5.1 However, I am of the view that, looking to the age of the claimant, the multiplier of 16 awarded in the present case is just and proper. Therefore the future loss of income would come to Rs. 2,59,920 which is rounded off to Rs. 2,60,000/-. The Tribunal has awarded Rs. 1,12,896/- under this head and therefore an additional amount of Rs. 1,47,104/- is required to be granted under the head of future economic loss.
6. As regards the rest of the awards under various heads, the same is just and proper and does not call for any interference.
7. Accordingly, appeal is partly allowed. The appellant shall be entitled to an additional amount of Rs. 1,47,104/- alongwith interest at 7.5% from the date of application till realisation. The award of the Tribunal is modified accordingly. No order as to costs.
(K.S.
JHAVERI, J.) Divya// Top