High Court · 2024

Judgment

1. The present appeal has been preferre The referred by the claimants/appellants f lants for enhancement of nt of compensation awarded by the the learned Motor Accident Claim Claims Tribunal, Rupnag upnagar (for short, 'the Tribunal') vid vide award dated 22.07.2006 und Section 166 of th of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, w , whereby, the claimants/appellan pellants were awarded a ded a compensation of Rs.3,86,000/ 6,000/- along with interest @ 6% annum. FACTS NOT IN T IN DISPUTE

2. Brief facts of the case are that o Brief 30 p.m, that on 21.9.2004 at about 4.30 p.m deceased Geeta S eeta Sharma was coming from Banga Banga to Nurpur Bedi with her husban husband Ram Sharma and a and her niece Pooja Sharma to mee No.PB- to meet her relations on scooter No.PB 32-4010. The sco he scooter was being driven by her y her husband Ram Sharma at norm normal speed. The cousi cousin of her husband Ram Sharma harma namely Sham Sharma was als as also AMIT KAUNDAL 2024.11.14 16:39 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Chandigarh FAO-4704-20 2006 (O&M) -2- following them o hem on another motor cycle alongwit ngwith Jatinder Sharma. At about 4.3 out 4.30 p.m, when they re they reached in the revenue limits of N ts of Nalhoti, Tehsil Anandpur Sahib o ahib on Nurpur Bedi Gar di Garhshanker road, in the meanwh No.PB- eanwhile Tata Tempo bearing No.PB 12B-5346 came came from Garhshanker side toward owards Nurpur Bedi which was bein s being driven by its driv ts driver respondent No.2 in a rash and ash and negligent manner at a very hig ery high speed and withou without blowing any horn. The driver driver of tempo in question after takin r taking pass from Sham S ham Sharma and Jatinder Sharma, hit a, hit the scooter from the back side a side as a result of which which Geeta Sharma, her husband Ra nd Ram Sharma and other occupant o upant of the scooter fell on fell on the pacca road and the offend offending tempo crushed them and the nd they died at the spot. spot. The accident took place due due to rash and negligent driving o iving of respondent No.2.I No.2.It is alleged that at the time of d e of death, deceased Geeta Sharma wa rma was aged 35 years, se ars, self employed earning Rs.10,000 000/ p.m. and Rs.50,000/- were spe re spent on transportation rtation, funeral and last rites of th

of the deceased. FIR No.56 date 6 dated

21.9.2004 under under sections 279,304-A, 427 IPC w IPC was recorded at PS Nurpur Be ur Bedi against responden ondent No. 2.

3. Upon notice of the claim petition, Upon ition, respondents appeared and denie denied the factum of acci accident/compensation. From the pleadings of the parties, th From ties, the Tribunal framed the followin llowing

4. issues:- “1. Whether Geeta Sharma ma Died in motor vehicle acciden cident, which was caused by respo espondent No.2 while driving Ta Tata Tempo No.PB-12B-5346 in n a rash and negligent manner o er on

21.9.2004 At About 4.30 p.m p.m in the area of village Nalhot lhoti? OPP AMIT KAUNDAL 2024.11.14 16:39 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Chandigarh FAO-4704-20 2006 (O&M) -3-

2. Whether at the time of ac f accident respondent No.2 was n as not holding a valid and effective tive driving licence? If so,its effect ffect ? OPR-3

3. Whether the claim petition i ion is not maintainable? OPP

4. Whether the claimants are are entitled to get any compensatio sation, if so, to what extent and from w om whom? OPP

5. Relief.”

5. After taking into consideration the After on the pleadings and the evidence o ence on record, the learne learned Tribunal awarded compensa pensation to the tune of Rs.3,86,000 00/- alongwith interes interest @ 6% per annum. Hence t ence the claimants/appellants filed th iled the present appeal for eal for enhancement of compensation sation awarded by the Tribunal. SUBMISSIONS IONS OF THE COUNSELS FOR PA OR PARTIES

6. The learned counsel for the claima The claimants-appellants contends that th that the amount assessed essed by the learned Tribunal is on th on the lower side. He further contend ontends that the learned T rned Tribunal erroneously applied mu ed multiplier of 16 instead of 18 and and no amount has been s been granted for future prospects, lo , loss of consortium and for loss o r loss of estate. He furthe further contends that the compensati pensation for funeral expenses was o was on lower side. He fu He further contends that tribunal has al has wrongly assessed the dependenc endency of the claimant mants/appellants to the extent of 2/3 2/3rd whereas it should have bee ve been assessed as 3/4th th.

7. Per contra, learned for the respo Per respondents argues that the learne learned Tribunal vide a ide award dated 22.07.2006 has r has rightly assessed the amount o ount of compensation and and, therefore, the appeal is liable t iable to be dismissed. AMIT KAUNDAL 2024.11.14 16:39 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Chandigarh FAO-4704-20 2006 (O&M) -4-

8. I have heard learned counsel for th I hav for the parties and perused the who record of this case is case.

9. A perusal of the award indicates th A pe ates that the Tribunal has assessed th ssed the income of the d the deceased at Rs.3000/- per mo er month relying upon the judgme dgment Mathura Dutt vs utt vs. DTC, 2005 (2) Accident Com t Compensation Judicial Reports 31 rts 318 in which income ncome of the house wife was assess assessed to the tune of Rs.3000/- month. Howev owever, no amount was calculated culated for future prospects, loss o s of consortium and fo and for loss of estate and the sum aw um awarded for funeral expenses is als on the lower side. r side. Therefore, the award requires in uires indulgence of this Court. SETTLED LAW LAW ON COMPENSATION

10. Hon’ble Supreme Court in the ca Hon’ the case of Sarla Verma Vs. Del Delhi Transport Corpo orporation and Another [(2009) 6 S 9) 6 Supreme Court Cases 121], la , laid down the law on aw on assessment of compensation an tion and the relevant paras of the sam he same are as under:-

30. Though in some cases the “30 the deduction to be made towar personal and living expenses is c is calculated on the basis of uni indicated in Trilok Chandra, the the general practice is to app standardised deductions. Having a ng a considered several subseque equent decisions of this Court, we are of t of the view that where the decease ceased was married, the deduction towards ards personal and living expenses ses of the deceased, should be one-third third (1/3rd) where the number ber of dependent family members is 2 to 2 to 3, one-fourth (1/4th) where th re the number of dependent family membe mbers is 4 to 6, and one-fifth (1/5t (1/5th) where the number of dependent fami family members exceeds six. AMIT KAUNDAL 2024.11.14 16:39 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Chandigarh FAO-4704-20 2006 (O&M) -5-

31. W . Where the deceased was a bac bachelor and the claimants are th re the parents, the deduction follows a d a different principle. In regard ard to bachelors, normally, 50% is ded deducted as personal and livin living expenses, because it is assumed tha that a bachelor would tend to spen more on himself. Even otherwise, t se, there is also the possibility of h of his getting married in a short time, in w in which event the contribution to th to the parent(s) and siblings is likely to be to be cut drastically. Further, subje ubject to evidence to the contrary, the fathe to ev father is likely to have his own incom and will not be considered as a dep dependant and the mother alone w e will be considered as a dependant. In be c . In the absence of evidence to th to the contrary, brothers and sisters will n ill not be considered as dependant dants, because they will either be indepen ependent and earning, or married, ied, or be dependent on the father. be de

32. Thus even if the deceased is s 32 is survived by parents and sibling blings, only d the mother would be conside nsidered to be a dependant, and 50 d 50% would be treated as the personal an l and living expenses of the bachel chelor and 50% as the contribution to the f the family. However, where the fami family of the bachelor is large and depende of th endent on the income of the decease eased, as in a case where he has a widow as in dowed mother and large number ber of younger non-earning sisters or br r brothers, his personal and livin living expenses may be restricted to one-th third and contribution to the fami family will be taken as two-third. * * * * * * AMIT KAUNDAL 2024.11.14 16:39 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Chandigarh FAO-4704-20 2006 (O&M) -6-

42. We therefore hold that the mu 42. multiplier to be used should be be as mentioned in Column (4) of the ta e table above (prepared by applyin plying Susamma Thomas³, Trilok Chandra Susa ndra and Charlie), which starts wi s with an operative multiplier of 18 (for the an o r the age groups of 15 to 20 and 21 21 to 25 years), reduced by one unit for ev 25 ye or every five years, that is M-17 for 2 for 26 to 30 years, M-16 for 31 to 35 year to 30 years, M-15 for 36 to 40 years, M M-14 for 41 to 45 years, and M-13 for 46 for 4 r 46 to 50 years, then reduced by tw by two units for every five years, that is, M s, M-11 for 51 to 55 years, M-9 for 5 for 56 to 60 years, M-7 for 61 to 65 years a to 6 ars and M-5 for 66 to 70 years.

11. Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case Hon’ case of National Insurance Compa Ltd. Vs. Pranay nay Sethi & Ors. [(2017) 16 SCC SCC 680] has clarified the law und w under Sections 166, 163 6, 163-A and 168 of the Motor Veh r Vehicles Act, 1988, on the followi ollowing aspects:- AMIT KAUNDAL 2024.11.14 16:39 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Chandigarh (A) Deduction of personal and (A) l and living expenses to determin termine multiplicand; (B) Selection of multiplier depend (B) epending on age of deceased; (C) Age of deceased on basis for a (C) is for applying multiplier; (D) Reasonable figures on conv (D) conventional heads, namely, loss o loss of estate, loss of consortium and funera funeral expenses, with escalation; (E) Future prospects for all categ (E) categories of persons and for differe ifferent ages: with permanent job; self-emplo ages: employed or fixed salary. The relevant portion of the judgment The gment is reproduced as under:- “52. As far as the conventio ntional heads are concerned, we fin e find it difficult to agree with the v the view expressed in Rajesh². It ha It has FAO-4704-20 2006 (O&M) -7- granted Rs.25,000 towards rds funeral expenses, Rs 1,00,00 0,000 towards loss of consortium a um and Rs 1,00,000 towards loss oss of care and guidance for minor c nor children. The head relating to lo to loss of care and minor children do n does not exist. Though Rajesh refe refers to Santosh Devi, it does no s not seem to follow the same. Th e. The conventional and traditional nal heads, needless to say, cannot b not be determined on percentage ba e basis because that would not be a be an acceptable criterion. Unlike d ike determination of income, the sa e said heads have to be quantified. fied. Any quantification must have ave a reasonable foundation. There here can be no dispute over the fa e fact that price index, fall in ban bank interest, escalation of rates tes in many a field have to be no e noticed. The court cannot rema oblivious to the same. There here has been a thumb rule in th in this aspect. Otherwise, re will be extreme difficulty determination of the same and and unless the thumb rule is applie plied, there will be immense variatio iation lacking any kind of consisten stency as a consequence of which, th h, the orders passed by the tribuna bunals and courts are likely to be be unguided. Therefore, we think ink it seemly to fix reasonable sum sums. It seems to us that reasonab onable figures on conventional head heads, namely, loss of estate, loss oss of consortium and funeral e l expenses should be Rs.15,00 5,000, Rs.40,000 and Rs.15,000 r 0 respectively. The principle le of revisiting the said heads is is an acceptable principle. But th ut the revisit should not be fact-cent centric or quantum-centric. We thin AMIT KAUNDAL 2024.11.14 16:39 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Chandigarh FAO-4704-20 2006 (O&M) -8- that it would be condign gn that the amount that we ha quantified should be enhance anced on percentage basis in eve three years and the enhancem ncement should be at the rate of 10 f 10% in a span of three years. We We are disposed to hold so becau ecause that will bring in consistency i ncy in respect of those heads. * * * * *

59.3. While determining the the income, an addition of 50% 0% of actual salary to the income ome of the deceased towards futu future prospects, where the decease eased had a permanent job and wa d was below the age of 40 years, sho , should be made. The addition shou should be 30%, if the age of the dece deceased was between 40 to 50 year years. In case the deceased was betw between the age of 50 to 60 years, th rs, the addition should be 15%. Actual salary should be read a ad as actual salary less tax.

59.4. In case the deceased w ed was self-employed (or) on a fixe salary, an addition of 40% of of the established income should b uld be the warrant where the decease ceased was below the age of 40 year years. An addition of 25% where the e the deceased was between the age age of 40 to 50 years and 10% whe where the deceased was between th en the age of 50 to 60 years shoul hould be regarded as the necessa essary method of computation. The The established income means th ns the income minus the tax compone ponent.

59.5. For determination of th of the multiplicand, the deduction fo on for personal and living expenses, ses, the tribunals and the courts sha s shall AMIT KAUNDAL 2024.11.14 16:39 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Chandigarh FAO-4704-20 2006 (O&M) -9- be guided by paras 30 to 32 o 32 of Sarla Verma⁴ which we ha e have reproduced hereinbefore.

59.6. The selection of multip ultiplier shall be as indicated in th in the Table in Sarla Verma¹ read wi d with para 42 of that judgment.

59.7. The age of the deceased ased should be the basis for applyin plying the multiplier.

59.8. Reasonable figures on co on conventional heads, namely, loss loss of estate, loss of consortium an and funeral expenses should be R be Rs 15,000, Rs 40,000 and Rs 15 s 15,000 respectively. The aforesa resaid amounts should be enhanced ced at the rate of 10% in every thr years.”

12. Hon’ble Supreme Court in rt in the case of Magma Gener eneral Insurance rance Company Limited Vs. Nan am & . Nanu Ram alias Chuhru Ram & Others [20 rs [2018(18) SCC 130] after conside onsidering Sarla Verma (supra) an Pranay Se y Sethi (Supra) has settled the law he law regarding consortium. Releva elevant paras of the of the same are reproduced as under: nder:- “21. A Constitution Bench of h of this Court in Pranay Sethi² dea ² dealt with the various heads unde under which compensation is to b to be awarded in a death case. se. One of these heads is loss oss of consortium. In legal parlance ance, "consortium" is a compendio ndious term which encompasses " es "spousal consortium", "paren rental consortium", and "filial cons consortium". The right to consortiu ortium would include the company, any, care, help, comfort, guidanc dance, solace and affection of the the deceased, which is a loss to h to his AMIT KAUNDAL 2024.11.14 16:39 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Chandigarh FAO-4704-20 2006 (O&M) -10- - family. With respect to a s a spouse, it would include sexu relations with the deceased sp d spouse.

21.1. Spousal consortium is generally defined as righ rights pertaining to the relationship ship of a husband-wife which allow allows compensation to the survivin viving spouse for loss of "compan pany, society, cooperation, affectio ction, and aid of the other in eve conjugal relation".

21.2. Parental consortium is granted to the child upon th on the premature death of a pare parent, for loss of "parental ai l aid, protection, affection, society, discipline, guidance an training".

21.3. Filial consortium is is the right of the parents ts to compensation in the case of a of an accidental death of a child. A ild. An accident leading to the death ath of a child causes great shock an ck and agony to the parents and fam family of the deceased. The greate reatest agony for a parent is to lose lose their child during their lifetim etime. Children are valued for thei their love, affection, companionsh onship and their role in the family un y unit.

22. Consortium is a special cial prism reflecting changing norm about the status and worth rth of actual relationships. Mode jurisdictions world-over have have recognised that the value of e of a child's consortium far excee exceeds the economic value of th of the compensation awarded in the the case of the death of a child. Mo . Most jurisdictions therefore per permit parents to be awarde AMIT KAUNDAL 2024.11.14 16:39 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Chandigarh FAO-4704-20 2006 (O&M) -11- - compensation under loss of co of consortium on the death of a chil child. The amount awarded to the p he parents is a compensation for lo r loss of the love, affection, care an e and companionship of the decease ceased child.

23. The Motor Vehicles Act is ct is a beneficial legislation aimed ed at providing relief to the victim ictims or their families, in cases ses of genuine claims. In case whe where a parent has lost their min child, or unmarried son or da r daughter, the parents are entitled tled to be awarded loss of consor nsortium under the head of fili filial consortium. Parental consort sortium is awarded to children wh n who lose their parents in motor ve or vehicle accidents under the Act. Act. A few High Courts have award warded compensation on this coun count. However, there was no clarity larity with respect to the principles o les on which compensation could uld be awarded on loss of fili filial consortium.

24. The amount of compensat nsation to be awarded as consortiu ortium will be governed by the prin principles of awarding compensatio sation under "loss of consortium" as " as laid down in Pranay Sethi². In th In the present case, we deem it app appropriate to award the father an er and the sister of the deceased, an a , an amount of Rs 40,000 each for lo or loss of filial consortium. ION CONCLUSION

13. In view of the law laid down by th In vi by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in th rt in the above referred to rred to judgments, the present appe t appeal is allowed. The award date d dated AMIT KAUNDAL 2024.11.14 16:39 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Chandigarh FAO-4704-20 2006 (O&M) -12- -

22.07.2006 is m is modified accordingly. The app e appellants-claimants are entitled titled to enhanced compen ompensation as per the calculations ma ons made here-under:- Sr. No. Heads Compensation Awarded 1 Mo Monthly Income Rs.3000/- 2 Future prospects @ 40% Fut Rs.1200/- (40% of 3000) Deduction 3 De expenditure towards personal Rs.1050/- [1/4 of (3000+1200)]

4. Tot Total Income Rs.3150/- (4200-1050) 4 Mu Multiplier 16 5 An Annual Dependency 6 7 8 Loss of Estate Los Funeral Expenses Fun Los Loss of Consortium Parental : Rs.48,000/- x 3 Par Filal: Rs.48,000/-x2 Fil Rs.6,04,800/- (Rs.3150/- x 12 x 16) Rs.18,000/- Rs.18,000/- Rs.2,40,000/- Total Compensation To Rs.8,80,800/- Amount Awarded by the Tribuna Am ribunal Rs.3,86,000/- Enhanced amount En Rs.4,94,800/-

14. So far as the interest part is concern So fa oncerned, as held by Hon’ble Suprem upreme Court in Dara Sin a Singh @ Dhara Banjara Vs. Shya Shyam Singh Varma 2019 ACJ 317 J 3176 and R.Valli and O and Others VS. Tamil Nandu State tate Transport Corporation (2022) 2022) 5 Supreme Court ourt Cases 107, the appellants-claim erest @ claimants are granted the interest @ 9% per annum on um on the enhanced amount from the m the date of filing of claim petition t ition till the date of its real its realization.

15. The Insurance Company is directed t The ected to deposit the enhanced amount ount of compensation alo on along with interest with the Tribun Tribunal within a period of two month months from today. The . The Tribunal is further directed to ed to disburse the enhanced amount ount of AMIT KAUNDAL 2024.11.14 16:39 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Chandigarh FAO-4704-20 2006 (O&M) -13- - compensation alo on along with interest in the accounts ounts of the claimants/appellants as p ts as per ratio settled in th in the award dated 22.07.2006. The . The claimants/appellants are directe directed to furnish their ba heir bank account details to the Tribun ribunal.

17. Disposed of accordingly. Disp Pending applications, if any, also sta Pend lso stand disposed of.

07.11.2024 A.Kaundal ( (SUDEEPTI SHARMA) JUDGE Whether sp Whether re eaking ther speaking/non-speaking : Speaking ther reportable : Yes/No AMIT KAUNDAL 2024.11.14 16:39 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Chandigarh