Court No. - 33
Case :- FIRST APPEAL FROM ORDER No. - 2711 of 2012 Appellant :- Smt. Rajani And Others Respondent :- Gyanesh Sharma And Another Counsel for Appellant :- Rajeev Singhal,Mohd. Asim Zulfiquar
Hon'ble Dr. Kaushal Jayendra Thaker,J.
1. Heard Mohd. Asim Zulfiquar, learned counsel for the appellant and perused the judgment and order impugned. None appeared on behalf of respondents.
2. This appeal, at the behest of the claimants, challenges the judgment and award dated 31.1.2012 passed by Motor Accident Claims Tribunal/Additional District Judge, Court No.11, Agra (hereinafter referred to as 'Tribunal') in M.A.C. No. 412 of 2011 awarding a sum of Rs.4,35,563.50/- with interest at the rate of 7%.
3. The accident is not in dispute. The Insurance Company has not challenged the liability imposed on them by the Tribunal. The only issue to be decided is, the quantum.
4. It is submitted by learned counsel for the appellant that the Tribunal has considered the income on the lower side. It is submitted that the Tribunal has not granted any amount towards future loss of income the deceased which is required to be granted in view of the decision in National Insurance Company Limited Vs. Pranay Sethi and Others, 2017 0 Supreme (SC) 1050. It is further submitted that the deduction towards the personal expenses of the deceased, the amount under non-pecuniary heads and the interest awarded by the Tribunal are on the lower side and require enhancement.
5. After hearing the learned counsel for the appellant and perusing the judgment and order impugned, this Court feels that the income of the deceased namely Rs.45,000/- per year has been rightly assessed by the Tribunal but as the deceased was below 40 years of age and was a cobbler by profession, 40% of the income i.e. Rs. 18,000/- requires to be added as future income of the deceased in view of the decision in Pranay Sethi (Supra). The deduction of 1/4th towards personal expenses of the deceased and the multiplier of 17 granted by the Tribunal has been rightly granted. Hence, after deduction of 1/4th, the annual datum figure available to the family would be Rs.47,250/-. In addition to that, Rs.50,000/- is granted under the head of consortium to the widow and Rs. 20,000/- under the head of filial consortium to the parents in view of the decision in Pranay Sethi (Supra). Hence, the claimants are entitled to a total compensation of Rs.47,250 x 17 + 50,000 + 20,000 =8,73,250/-
6. The rate of interest will have to be 9% in view of the judgment of the Division Bench of Lucknow Bench in F.A.F.O. No. 199 of 2017 (National Insurance Company Limited Vs. Lavkush and another) decided on 21.3.2017 which has been followed by this Court time and again and which will enure for the benefit of the appellants.
7. No other grounds are urged orally when the matter was heard.
8. In view of the above, the appeal is partly allowed. Judgment and decree passed by the Tribunal shall stand modified to the aforesaid extent. The amount be recalculated and deposited with interest at the rate of 9% from the date of filing of the claim petition till the amount is deposited. The amount be deposited within a period of 12 weeks from today. The amount already deposited be deducted from the amount to be deposited.
Order Date :- 31.7.2019 DKS